Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-25

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)

Nowadays, businesses usually emphasise the new features of their products in advertisements. It is mainly because consumers are attracted to innovation and the modern features introduced. In my opinion, it is a positive development, although it can encourage unnecessary consumption sometime.

One major reason companies emphasise the newness of products is that the customers are widely interested in innovations and modern designs. A product that offers new advancements, facilities and technologies is likely to attract customers worldwide. For instance, mobile phone companies regularly update mobile phones features, designs and battery health to keep the customers engaged in it.

Another major reason is that companies introduce new features to compete and make them stand out to other marketing companies.

Emphasising on new products can encourage people to improve their goods and designs. Companies do a lot of research in order to enhance their facilities which can actually benefit its buyers. For instance, the development of energy saving household appliances has allowed people to reduce their electricity consumption while still enjoying the modern facilities and technologies.

However, there may be minor disadvantages like companies think that they need to replace their products because newer version is released. This can also lead to unnecessary spending and increase in waste, particularly in the electronic industry.

In conclusion, business emphasis on the newness of product to attract consumers and compete with other. Although it can make insignificant consumption but it also offers predominantly a positive development because it improves innovation , make technologies more accessible and reliable.

AI examiner evaluation

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. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of innovation and competitive advantage. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about 'unnecessary consumption' is mentioned but not fully explored or balanced against the positive aspects. The conclusion is a bit repetitive and lacks a strong final synthesis of the argument. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your examples and provide more nuanced analysis of the 'why' and the 'impact' of these marketing strategies.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. There is a progression of ideas from the reasons for the trend to the evaluation of its impact. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One major reason', 'Another major reason', and 'However', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as in the sentence 'make them stand out to other marketing companies', where the pronoun 'them' is ambiguous. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the flow of information is generally clear.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'innovation', 'advancements', and 'energy saving household appliances'. There are some instances of slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'insignificant consumption' (likely meaning 'unnecessary' or 'excessive') and 'make technologies more accessible'. Some word choices are repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'features' and 'companies'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and a wider variety of synonyms to avoid repetition and enhance the sophistication of your writing.

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. Examples include 'Emphasising on new products' (incorrect preposition), 'newer version is released' (missing article), and 'compete with other' (missing noun). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and agreement issues, such as 'make technologies more accessible and reliable' lacking a subject or clear link to the previous clause. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band score.

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

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