Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-12

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)

In recent times, it has been observed that in the promotion of goods, companies claim that the products are new in some ways. Moreover, this is because of a competitive market, which influences businesses to do so. I strongly believe that this is a positive development. Both views will be taken into consideration.

To commence with, the drawback of such development is that some commercials can be emphasized as new products by companies, which might lead to mass production of goods in the market. For example, Inyange Industries Limited has advertised its new phones to the market where it produced those products in bulk, which led to a loss. As a result, competition nowadays has made producers produce more products than needed. Therefore, it is disadvantageous for businesses to emphasize that goods are new. `

Another perspective that cannot be denied is that such development has promoted the availability of new items to the market, which become easily accessible and increase consumption. For example, Apple has launched the iPhone 18 and the iPhone Duo to the market, where customers have started to upgrade phones. Consequently, this has resulted in innovation and creativity, which are essential to the market. Therefore, it cannot be neglected to consider companies' hard work in launching new products.

In conclusion, it can be a negative development when manufacturers produce more goods than needed. However, I strongly agree that advertising businesses sometimes emphasize that the products are new in some way, which promotes innovation and creativity in the competitive market. It is predicted that such development will be the real future.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing why businesses emphasize new products and offering an opinion on whether this is positive or negative. The introduction outlines the writer's strong positive view, though the sentence 'Both views will be taken into consideration' contradicts the stance taken. The body paragraphs attempt to explore both sides, weighing the drawback of mass production against the benefits of innovation and accessibility. However, some ideas are slightly confused, such as the example of Inyange Industries leading to a loss through bulk production, which lacks clear contextual explanation. The position is somewhat blurred by the conclusion, which states that it can be a negative development before reiterating agreement with the positive view. These limitations place the task response at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into four distinct paragraphs, providing an overall logical arrangement. Cohesive devices such as 'To commence with', 'Another perspective that cannot be denied', and 'In conclusion' are employed to signpost the progression of ideas, though some transitional phrases feel mechanical or awkward, such as 'such development has promoted the availability of new items to the market'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. Referencing is generally clear, although pronoun use and linking between sentences occasionally lack fluidity. Overall, the structural progression meets the criteria for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts to incorporate less common items and subject-specific terms such as 'mass production', 'innovation', 'creativity', and 'competitive market'. However, there are noticeable limitations and occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'commercials can be emphasized as new products' and 'advertised its new phones to the market where it produced those products in bulk'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lack of precise lexical control restricts the score to Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and grammatical awkwardness, such as 'it has been observed that in the promotion of goods, companies claim that the products are new in some ways' and 'it cannot be neglected to consider companies' hard work'. Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, and the majority of simpler structures remain accurate. This performance aligns with the requirements for Band 6.0.

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.