Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-20
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some way. Why is this? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
To commence with, in businesses many people claimed that they have something new or different than other products for advertisements. In my point of view, it is a positive thing because it catches the attention of people in a large amount as compare to if they simply said that their products consist of these things. Such as, when cosmetic brands promote their businesses by saying that they have these chemicals like glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, gluten and vitamins. People think that they are just like other brand. It means, it is very important to add some spice in their advertisements. For instance they are not adding some harmful products like Sulphur, coal, salts, and steroids.
Moreover, there are many benefits of doing this for example: it catches the attention of public easily, it makes the items different from the items of other brands. On the other hand, it is also fascinated for those peoples who are willing to try new and different things. Like me, whenever I go to the market no matter for what even for shopping, to buy clothes, grocery items, bakery products, cosmetics and shoes. I always seeking to try different thing that I never tried before. It helps me to gain experience of new things and makes me ready to explore something unique.
To conclude this, I would say that it is beneficial for a business to mention that they have unique products for advertisements. But the one thing that they have always to keep in mind that they should do honest advertisement. In this way, they would make progress by leaps and bounds.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: explaining why businesses emphasize 'newness' and providing an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The explanation for why businesses use this strategy is clear, but the discussion on whether it is positive or negative lacks depth. The examples provided, such as the list of chemicals in cosmetics, are slightly confusing and do not fully support the argument. To improve, you should provide more nuanced reasoning and ensure that your examples directly illustrate your main points rather than listing items.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'To commence with' is a non-standard opening, and 'Such as' is used incorrectly to start a sentence. The transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt, and the referencing (e.g., 'it' referring back to previous concepts) is occasionally unclear. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would significantly enhance the flow of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'new and different things' and 'make progress'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'it is also fascinated for those peoples' (should be 'fascinating for those people'). To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that your word choices are contextually appropriate and grammatically correct.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'many people claimed' instead of 'claim'), incorrect article usage, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'it catches the attention of people in a large amount as compare to'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic tense consistency and pluralization errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.