Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17
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)
When it comes to advertising, business owners tend to exaggerate the advantages and novelty of their products. The reason is that they want to attract more customers in the first place. In my opinion, this is a negative development since it is not sustainable and buyers might be misled.
First and foremost, it is understandable that entrepreneurs want to make the most of their money. Emphasising the new features of their products can usually draw more viewers' attention as the general public is pursuing them. For example, NIKE, one of the most famous sportswear companies, always tell its followers that its newest product is going to be launched in order to continuously hook their attention. The more exposures to customers you have, the more likely you are going to make some money in business world.
However, we still need to take consumers' feelings and sustainability into account. If nobody pays attention to this part, a company will face bankruptcy very soon because everybody who has bought item from it would want to refund the money. To illustrate it, on street market, people always see some stalls that prompt themselves as the best ones in the world or something else more exaggerated. In this way, maybe they can make some fast money for the first a few days. After that, though, nobody will keep visiting them. This is the consequence we need to consider whenever we want to expand our business by misleading the consumers. In addition to that, nobody wants to be bothered by those false information on the internet. The best way to advertise one's product might still be secretly refining its quality.
In conclusion, because of the desire of making more money, lots of business owners have started to overemphasise the novelty of their products. While it is an efficient way for them to attract people's attention, this behaviour fails to maintain the relationship between customers and companies. Therefore, it is not a positive development.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully discussing both the reasons why businesses emphasise that their products are new and whether this is a positive or negative development. The position is clear throughout the essay, culminating in a firm conclusion that the trend is a negative development. Ideas are extended with relevant examples, such as mentioning NIKE and street market stalls. However, some arguments, such as the claim that 'everybody who has bought item from it would want to refund the money', tend to over-generalize and lack deeper nuanced development. Overall, the task is handled adequately, fitting the criteria for a solid Band 6.5 or Band 7.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, beginning with an introduction, moving to reasons for advertising novelty, considering consumer reactions and negative impacts, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'First and foremost', 'However', and 'In addition to that' are used to structure the text, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately throughout, ensuring the reader can follow the writer's argument without confusion, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'bankruptcy', 'overemphasise', and 'sustainable'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'the general public is pursuing them' instead of pursuing novelty, 'The more exposures to customers you have' (imprecise plural and article usage), and 'on street market' lacking a determiner. Vocabulary errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the score to a Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising conditional structures ('If nobody pays attention to this part, a company will face bankruptcy...') and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, including missing articles ('bought item from it', 'on street market'), subject-verb agreement issues ('always tell its followers' for NIKE), and preposition errors ('for the first a few days'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, placing the grammar firmly in the Band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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