Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-31

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 6.5)

In recent times, companies start to advertise their products by emphasizing an upgrade in some aspects. This advertising strategy is used to attract new consumers into thinking that they are buying a better item. However, I believe that this is a positive trend because it gives an incentive for companies to create innovations to attract customers.

Customers are always searching for a better deal when buying commodities. This leads them to explore options given by different businesses; if they find a higher quality product from one store, then they would buy from them. Therefore, companies are finding different advertisement strategies to convince buyers that they offer top-notch items. One of the tactics that has been popular recently is by introducing a slight change from the old products. In people's eyes, this indicates an upgrade in quality from the previous versions. For instance, a skincare shop can change the packaging of one of their products and then market them as a new product entirely, increasing the publicity of this new item.

Long-term use of this marketing strategy will make people become more accustomed to it. This would change the norm for advertisements; companies will need to emphasize on their creative innovations that compliment their products. Consequently, it creates a competitive environment where businesses need to invest more on research and development to create meaningful innovations that the public would love. This competition is highly beneficial for consumers, as they will get a much better product due to stores competing for buyers' attention. For example, skincare brands will need to continuously improve their items' formula to keep up with other brands products, which in return consumers either get an equivalent quality product but cheaper or a higher quality item.

In conclusion, businesses nowadays emphasize on their product's new changes to attract more consumers into buying them. This would lead to other competitors improving their products as well, which would continuously loop and benefits people as the products' quality continue to rise.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for emphasizing 'newness' and the evaluation of whether this is positive or negative. The position is clear from the introduction and maintained throughout. Ideas are well-developed, particularly the link between marketing strategies and the subsequent pressure on companies to innovate. The example of the skincare industry provides a concrete illustration of the argument. While the analysis is logical, it could be further strengthened by briefly acknowledging the potential negative aspects of this trend, such as consumerism or waste, to provide a more balanced and nuanced discussion, which would elevate the response to a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the explanation of the strategy and its long-term impact is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'For instance', and 'Consequently' are used effectively to link sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The flow of the argument is easy to follow, and the relationship between the marketing tactics and the competitive market environment is clearly articulated, demonstrating a good command of organizational structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. You use some good collocations such as 'competitive environment', 'meaningful innovations', and 'advertising strategy'. However, there are some instances where word choice could be more precise or varied. For example, 'emphasize on' is grammatically incorrect (the verb 'emphasize' is transitive and does not take 'on'). Additionally, some phrasing is slightly repetitive, such as the use of 'products' and 'items' throughout. Expanding your range to include more sophisticated synonyms or topic-specific vocabulary would help demonstrate a higher level of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You show control over complex sentences, such as 'if they find a higher quality product from one store, then they would buy from them.' However, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as 'companies start to advertise' (should be 'have started' or 'are starting') and the aforementioned 'emphasize on'. Punctuation is generally accurate, but there are minor slips in subject-verb agreement and preposition usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching the highest band for grammatical accuracy.

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