Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-02
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 encourages that their products are new in some way through social media advertisements. Due to this customers can be better persuaded to buy things. I think it is both a positive and negative development and this essay will explain both terms.
On the one hand, selling products with the help of social media can be beneficial and convenient. However, in the modern world sellers can increase their sales through advertising products. It has a vital role in easing buyers because of the busy schedule or routine, people can watch aids and purchase things from the comfort of their home. Social advertisements targets mentality of the people and they trust a lot on the things shown on aids rather than going markets and buying there. For example, lower quality of shampoo may have higher quantity of sales but the orignal one will face a decrease in its sale value this is all due to the advertisements.
On the other hand, social media advertisements can also have some negative aspects. Firstly, things and products are been selling in larger quantities with low quality due to the interests and trust of individuals. Secondly, people give preference to the advertising products, while it has badly affected in store products. As people watch aids and order the product from their home. For instance, old products are selling with new labels and people assume it is a new product because advertisements can trap people.
In conclusion, advertisements can encourages people to buy things it is good because it can bring ease and comfort. But it also has bad aspects like disrupting sales of the stores and markets as people do not trust on them any more.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: why businesses emphasize newness and whether this is positive or negative. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The explanation for why businesses emphasize 'newness' is limited, and the discussion on the positive and negative aspects lacks depth. For instance, the argument regarding 'lower quality shampoo' is unclear and does not effectively support the point about market trends. While a position is stated, the supporting arguments are repetitive and lack specific, well-developed examples to fully satisfy the requirements of a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'However, in the modern world...' does not logically connect to the previous sentence. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes confusing, such as the use of 'aids' to refer to advertisements, which is not standard usage. While there is an attempt to use linking words like 'Firstly' and 'Secondly', the overall flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed, impacting the logical progression of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There is a reliance on basic terms, and some word choices are incorrect or unnatural, such as using 'aids' instead of 'advertisements' or 'commercials'. The phrase 'selling products with the help of social media' is repetitive. Furthermore, there are errors in collocation, such as 'face a decrease in its sale value' and 'trust a lot on the things'. To improve, you should focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Subject-verb agreement is a recurring issue, such as 'businesses usually encourages' and 'advertisements can encourages'. There are also errors in verb tense and voice, such as 'things and products are been selling'. Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure is often simplistic. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.
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.