Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

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 contemporary society, many business owners use the strategy in the advertisements of their products to make them latest in order to persuade people. This is mainly because their aim is to earn money. From my perspective it is a negative development because once the truth is exposed, people disliked buying the products from that company.

First and foremost, the main purpose of any business owner is to get money form the individuals through advertisments. They can change the packaging of their products and renew the expiry dates to attain the attention of citizens. After this, the products are ready to go in the market in a new way. For example, in Pakistan, there are many companies that alter the labelling of their products and make ads in a way that the products are newly launced. In this case, they earn a substantial amount of money and broaden their horizons.

On the other hand, it is a negative development because the companies are trying to make people fool, but when someone exposed their reality. They could face serious repercussions. Subsequently, people avoid themselves from buying the products. In this way, the reputation of the company is down. For instance, recently in Pakistan, the chairman of " Punjab Food Authority" revealed the truth of Foodpanda. As a result, the sales went down and people boycotted their food.

In conclusion, the aim of companies is try to cajole their customers buying new products to earn money from them. I believe this has detrimetal influence on the companies once they exposed by authorities, people prevent themselves to buy products from that specific company and their value is decreased.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you explain that businesses stress novelty to attract customers and earn money, and you clearly judge this as negative. The examples about relabelling products in Pakistan and the Foodpanda controversy help make your position relevant. However, the explanation of why novelty is emphasised is quite narrow: it focuses mainly on profit and misleading customers, without exploring other plausible motives, such as standing out from competitors or signalling innovation. The consequences are also asserted more than explained; for example, the claim that sales fell and customers boycotted the company would be stronger with clearer detail about how the revelation affected trust. Develop these points more fully and distinguish genuine product innovation from deceptive marketing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting the business motive and the negative consequences, and a conclusion that restates your view. Signposting such as “First and foremost,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the stages easy to follow. Some connections, however, are mechanical or unclear. “After this” does not precisely show how changing packaging leads to a product being presented as new, while “when someone exposed their reality” leaves the person and the sequence of events vague. The conclusion also repeats the body’s points rather than drawing them together. Use more precise references and transitions, and make the relationship between each example and its supporting claim explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of relevant vocabulary, including “substantial amount,” “repercussions,” “reputation,” and “boycotted,” and these choices help communicate the topic. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “broaden their horizons” and “cajole,” but some are not natural in context: companies may “expand their market reach,” while “cajole their customers buying” is not an appropriate collocation. Several spelling errors, including “advertisments,” “launced,” and “detrimetal,” reduce accuracy. Phrases such as “make people fool” and “the reputation of the company is down” are understandable but imprecise. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and check spelling, especially when using less familiar vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “once the truth is exposed” and a subordinate clause beginning “because.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in verb forms, sentence construction, and agreement occur in several places. For example, “people disliked buying” does not fit the general present-time argument, and “when someone exposed their reality” needs a complete, correctly formed clause. The conclusion’s “the aim of companies is try” also has an incorrect verb pattern, while “people prevent themselves to buy” uses an incorrect construction. Practise accurate present-tense statements and clauses with “when” and “once,” and check that each sentence has a complete, correctly linked structure.

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