Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-03

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)

Nowadays, for product marketing companies generally emphasise that it is different from it's older version. There is an ongoing debate upon this new advertising technique, whether this is positive or negative change. In my opinion this is a positive development which I will explain in detail in this essay.

Firstly, using this technique for marketing for a product businesses keep their product alive in the market by focusing on the new trends which are popular in public. For example, when individuals buy koren skin care for their routine many local cosmatic companies faced a huge decline in their products sale. To cop up with this, they advertised the same product but they used specific ingredients to target the audience.

On the other hand, this marketing technique also has few negative impacts on the businesses too. Mostly vendors convey that their product is different but in reality it is usually same as it was before. Which will damage the company's reputation, if any individual file the case against them. By marketing the product in fasle ways, some people also get the consequencies. For instance, if someone has sensitive skin and that individual had some reaction with the product before, but now company advertised it with some additional elements which are not harmful for the person. If the individual purchase it again, person will get the same reaction becuase of the false marketing. This will not only harm her physically but also she will lose the fate in the company.

In conculsion, this method help the companies to increase their sales and consumers. If they don't do this they will lose the audenice, also they will not able to compete with their competitors. Which will harm the company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You state a clear overall view—“this is a positive development”—and give relevant reasons, including businesses responding to changing consumer trends and the risk of misleading claims. However, the response only partly fulfils the task because the reasons for emphasising novelty are not explained in enough depth, and the positive position is not consistently supported. The skincare example is difficult to follow: it mentions local companies’ declining sales and new ingredients, but does not clearly show how advertising a product as new helps them. The negative example is more developed, though its hypothetical claim about reactions needs clearer explanation. To strengthen the response, explain the business motives directly, then support your positive judgement with a specific, logically connected example and address the drawbacks in relation to that judgement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting points, and a conclusion. “Firstly” and “On the other hand” help signal the shift between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and connections between claims are not always logical. For example, the skincare example moves from declining sales to ingredients without explaining the link, while the sensitive-skin example contains several steps that are difficult to follow. The conclusion introduces sales and competition but does not clearly resolve the contrast between the positive view and the risks discussed. Some linking is also mechanical, and the sentence beginning “Which will harm the company” is disconnected from the preceding sentence. Use clearer topic sentences and explicit cause-and-effect links, and ensure each paragraph develops one main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “marketing technique,” “target the audience,” “company’s reputation,” and “competitors.” These choices show an attempt to discuss business and consumer effects. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices, collocations, and spelling errors make parts of the response difficult to understand. Examples include “cop up with” for responding to a challenge, “product sale” where a more natural phrase is needed, and “lose the fate” instead of losing trust. There are also repeated errors such as “cosmatic,” “fasle,” and “conculsion.” Build a more precise set of phrases for advertising and consumer behaviour, and check spelling and collocations carefully. More accurate wording would make your examples clearer and your argument more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if any individual file the case against them” and a longer explanation beginning “If the individual purchase it again.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some relationships unclear. For example, “companies generally emphasise that it is different” has an unclear subject reference, while “Which will damage the company’s reputation” is a sentence fragment. Subject–verb agreement and verb forms are also inconsistent, as in “this method help” and “if the individual purchase.” The opening also uses “it’s” where a possessive form is required. Practise building complete sentences with clear subjects, accurate verb agreement, and controlled clauses; then proofread punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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