Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-12

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 6.0)

Yes, I agree that many businesses nowadays usually claim that their goods are offering something new in some way.This essay will illustrate the reasons for this, and why this is overall a negative development. Both merits and demerits of this growing trend will be demonstrated in this essay.

In the past, not many people were doing businesses, and there were not many hurdles if someone would start a business. But as time passed it became difficult to enter the market as many established businesses were already present in the market. Thus, new entrants started using various different techniques to penetrate the market such unique advertisements, offering free samples, public interviews about their product, and cheaper prices. This worked for some time, but then even these methods started becoming somewhat useless.

A new technique was then introduced where businesses would convince the public that their products were offering something new compared to the products already available in the market.This way of marketing worked, as people started buying new products only if they were convinced that they were getting something new out of it, and nowadays this marketing method is the most effective if a new product is launched in the market.

This has some upsides, for example new products can reach the public, monopoly can be avoided, and people may try cheaper new products. But from my perspective this is a negative development because in most cases the business are not offering anything new in their products, they just convince people that their product is new in some way, when in reality there is nothing new about their product, and people end up wasting their hard earned money in trying these new products. I believe that businesses should only claim this if they are actually offering something new in their product, otherwise they should use other methods to enter the market.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the prompt: you explain that businesses highlight novelty to stand out in a crowded market, and you clearly judge the trend negatively overall. The discussion of market competition and the risk that products are merely presented as new is relevant. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the claim that this approach is “the most effective” is not supported with a specific example, and the possible benefits—such as avoiding monopolies and giving consumers cheaper options—receive little development. To strengthen the response, explain how novelty-focused advertising affects consumer choices and support your main claims with a concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an explanation of why businesses use this approach, a discussion of its effects, and a concluding recommendation. The progression from market competition to novelty-based marketing is generally easy to follow. However, some linking is mechanical, particularly “This essay will illustrate” and “Both merits and demerits…will be demonstrated,” and the final body paragraph combines advantages, disadvantages, and advice. Some references are also broad, such as “This way” and “this marketing method,” which could be made more precise. Use more natural transitions and organise the positive and negative effects so each paragraph develops one main purpose.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “established businesses,” “new entrants,” “penetrate the market,” and “monopoly.” These choices show an adequate range and help communicate the central argument. However, some expressions are repetitive or imprecise: “in the market” appears several times, while “something new” and “new products” recur without much variation. There are also awkward collocations, such as “doing businesses” and “offering something new in their products.” Aim for more precise phrasing and a wider range of terms for advertising and product innovation, while checking that less familiar expressions sound natural in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including subordinate clauses such as “because in most cases…” and a relative clause beginning “where businesses would convince the public…”. Meaning remains clear throughout, and the errors do not generally obstruct communication. Some grammatical inaccuracies persist, however. For example, “the business are not offering” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “if someone would start a business” is an awkward conditional construction. There are also punctuation and spacing slips, including missing spaces after full stops in “way.This” and “market.This.” Review agreement and conditional forms, and proofread sentence boundaries to improve accuracy.

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