Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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)

Recently businesses are implementing new marketing stratergies to sell their product by pointing out how their product is unique and different from others.

In today's time running any business is competitive because people could find many option for single item. Therefore, the marketing team have to emphasise on how to attract customers by using varities of techniques like catchy tagline, colourful packing etc. For example, indulekha is a shampoo brand which is recently step into the indian market where already famous shampoo brands like head and shoulder are popular in people. To make their place in market they focus on shampoo bottle design instead of shampoo quality. They replace the normal cap in the bottle with the comb like cap where the customer have to squeeze the bottle gently and comb their hair and the shampoo will reach in every corner of head in just minutes without much efforts. In this way, I feel displaying the uniqueness of their product will help companies to sell their products.

On the other hand, to survive the competitive market sometime many company owner display things in their advertisement which are not true or partly true. Looking at such advertise individuals fell into their trap and purchase product. After purchasing, customers realize it is contradictory to what they saw on advertisement. Therefore, I believe the owner of the company should carefully review the content of their advertisement so that the customers is not getting into any traps. For Example, when people started purchasing the indulekha shampoo due to their unique bottle design without realizing is the quality of the shampoo is suitable for their hair type or not. Consequently, I believe the advertisement should be carefully display

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both why businesses highlight novelty and whether this is positive or negative, and your position is partly clear: you see uniqueness as useful for sales but warn that advertising can mislead. The shampoo-bottle example gives a relevant illustration of how a distinctive feature may attract buyers. However, the response develops the reasons unevenly. The first body paragraph explains competition and product differentiation, while the negative side is asserted more generally; the example returns to the same shampoo but does not clearly show a false claim or its consequences. The conclusion is also incomplete, so your overall judgement is not firmly brought together. Develop the positive and negative effects with distinct, specific support, then state your final view directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs signalled by “Therefore” and “On the other hand,” and a concluding attempt. The ideas generally move from competition to product differentiation, then to the risk of misleading advertising. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and links between examples and claims are not always clear. In particular, the shampoo example first supports novelty as a selling point, then is reused to suggest customers may be misled, without explaining the connection. The final sentence, “Therefore, I believe the advertisement should be carefully display,” does not complete the argument. Use clearer topic sentences, avoid repeating the same example for different points unless you explain the link, and finish with a complete conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competitive,” “emphasise,” “unique,” “customers,” and “advertisement,” and phrases such as “catchy tagline” help convey the marketing context. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the writing less natural: “many option,” “varities of techniques,” “colourful packing,” and “fell into their trap.” Some expressions are also imprecise, such as “display things” and “make their place in market.” Aim for more accurate collocations and a wider range of terms for product features, consumer decisions, and misleading claims. Proofread spelling and word forms, and choose precise phrases rather than relying on general words such as “things.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a relative clause in “a shampoo brand which is recently step into the indian market” and a conditional structure in “when people started purchasing … without realizing…”. These attempts show some range, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction are noticeable and sometimes make meaning harder to follow. For example, “the marketing team have to” has an agreement problem, while “the customer have to squeeze” and “the shampoo will reach” shift awkwardly between singular and plural subjects. The final clause, “the advertisement should be carefully display,” is grammatically incomplete. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb, and use complex clauses only when their structure is secure.

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