Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-21

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 6.0)

In this contemporary market, businesses usually promote their products to be new and innovative. Although this practice would have some benefits for the companies, I believe this is a negative development because it can cause several problems such as encourages excessive waste causes environmental pollution, and promotes consumerism.

In this highly competitive market, firms must differentiate their products from their rivals. For example, the progress in technological advancement and customer preferences encourages the companies to advertise their products frequently. Companies get attentions of the consumers by placing attractive slogans, appealing comments, and offering discounts. Consequently, customers immediately drawn towards the latest versions, which benefits the corporations at economic and social level.

Meanwhile, the disadvantages are far more than the advantages. Advertisements often encourage the consumers to purchase the items they do not need to buy, allowing the waste to increase the pollution. For instance, smartphone manufacturers regularly release new models only with small modifications, yet they market them as revolutionary which attracts people's attentions and they began purchase these models immediately. The organizations may use the term "new" just to draw customers, however this appeal is not realistic. Additionally, fast food restaurants become more engaging when they commercialize their cousins as new and innovative. As a result, people are consuming too much fast food. This practice is extremely harmful to human health and well-being because people are becoming obese and obesity can cause several diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Therefore, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

In conclusion, although advertisements are essential for the economic growth and status of the industries, they have several serious concerns as increasing pollution, several health issues, waste of money and excessive consumerism.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: explaining why businesses emphasize 'newness' and providing a clear opinion on whether this is positive or negative. The position is consistent throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the explanation for why companies use 'newness' (differentiation) is clear, the discussion on the negative impacts, particularly the fast food example, feels slightly disconnected from the core theme of 'newness' in advertising. To reach a higher band, ensure that every supporting example directly links back to the specific phenomenon of marketing products as 'new' rather than general consumerism or health issues.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the reasons for the trend from the critique. Cohesive devices such as 'In this highly competitive market', 'Consequently', and 'Meanwhile' are used to guide the reader. However, there are some minor mechanical issues with cohesion, such as the list in the first paragraph ('encourages excessive waste causes environmental pollution') which lacks proper punctuation or conjunctions. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring consistent use of linking words would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task and allows for clear communication. You demonstrate some good topic-specific vocabulary such as 'differentiate', 'technological advancement', and 'consumerism'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'commercialize their cousins' (likely meant 'cuisines') and 'get attentions of the consumers'. These errors do not impede meaning, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring that word forms are used correctly in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'customers immediately drawn' is missing an auxiliary verb, and 'they began purchase' should be 'they began to purchase' or 'they began purchasing'. Additionally, there are issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your points, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic verb forms and sentence construction will help improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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