Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-05

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)

Nowadays, many businesses advertise their products as new in different ways. This is becoming common because companies want to attract more customers. In my opinion, I believe this is a negative development.

Firstly, businesses focus on new products because they want to increase their sales. Customers are usually interested in new things, especially new technology. Therefore, companies use words such as “new”, “improved” and “latest” in their advertisements. This can make people interested in buying the product. For example, mobile phone companies regularly introduce new models with some new features to attract customers.

Secondly, this trend can have some negative effects on people. Many customers may buy new products even when their old products are still working well. This can cause unnecessary spending. In addition, some companies may show their products as much better than older products, but the actual difference may be very small. For example, a person may buy a new mobile phone only because it is the latest model, even though their current phone works properly.

In conclusion, businesses advertise their products as new mainly to attract customers and increase sales. However, I believe this is a negative development because it can encourage people to spend money on unnecessary products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

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 essay is significantly under the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the ideas are relevant, they are not fully developed; for instance, the discussion on consumer behavior could have been expanded with more nuanced examples or a broader analysis of the economic or environmental impacts. Because the response is only 203 words, it fails to meet the length requirement, which restricts the ability to provide a fully developed response as required by the higher band descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, with a logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Therefore', and 'In addition' are used to link ideas, although the range of these devices is somewhat limited and repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the central topic of each paragraph is clear. To improve, you should aim for a wider variety of cohesive links and ensure that the transition between sentences feels more natural and less mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'new things', 'new products', and 'new models' are used frequently. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, there is a lack of less common or more sophisticated lexical items that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency. To achieve a higher band score, try to incorporate more precise terminology related to marketing, consumer psychology, or economic trends, such as 'planned obsolescence', 'consumerism', or 'market differentiation'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and compound sentences, which are generally accurate. However, there is a lack of complex grammatical structures, such as conditional sentences, passive voice, or relative clauses, which are necessary for higher band scores. While the grammar is mostly error-free, the limited range of structures prevents the writing from being more sophisticated. The punctuation is generally correct, but the overall grammatical control is restricted to straightforward sentence patterns. Incorporating more varied sentence types would significantly improve this score.

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