Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people say that advertising is extremely successful at persuading us to buy things. Other people think that advertising is so common that we no longer pay attention to it. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

some individuals think that advertisement make us buy things. on the other hand, people think that advertisements have become so common that we mostly ignore them and do not pay much attention. it is a hotly debated issue in our society. in this essay, we will discuss both perspectives and i will present reasons how advertisements lead us to buy things.

advertisements keep popping up on social media, grabs our attention and advertise the product. sometimes, we do not want to buy the product, but the advertisement presents that product in such a graceful way that we cannot resist ourselves to buy it and experience it. they advertise the product using famous influencers, clear and creative strategies which convince us to give that product a chance to experience.

on the other hand, people think that advertisements have become so common and irritating, so they mostly ignore them. pop up ads are really distracting because it interrupts whatever a person is doing. they are really distracting, so mostly people ignore them because they want to continue what they were doing. many people had bad experience regarding buying products by watching advertisements. as a result, they stop paying attention towards them because of their past experiences.

in my opinion, advertising is extremely successful at persuading us to buy things because whenever we watch an advertisement, we buy it to get a new experience and mostly people love to experience new things and try something unique.

in addition, everyone wants to enhance their lifestyles, so they buy new products to make them part of their lives.

in conclusion, most of the people have tried buying by watching advertisements but their bad experiences led them to ignore such advertisements. on the other hand, people still buy through watching advertisements because those are their source of information and they experience useful products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the argument that advertisements are 'distracting' is mentioned multiple times without significant expansion. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments could be more nuanced to reach a higher band. The conclusion is slightly contradictory, as it acknowledges both the success of advertising and the tendency to ignore it, which slightly blurs the final stance. To improve, ensure each paragraph introduces a distinct, well-supported point rather than restating the same concepts.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. Cohesive devices such as 'on the other hand', 'in addition', and 'in conclusion' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. Additionally, some transitions between sentences within paragraphs are abrupt. For example, the shift from discussing social media ads to the influence of celebrities feels disjointed. Improving the flow between sentences and using a wider variety of cohesive markers would enhance the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey their meaning clearly. However, the range is limited and relies on basic, repetitive terms like 'buy', 'product', and 'advertisement'. There is a lack of less common lexical items or idiomatic expressions that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency. For example, instead of repeating 'buy', the writer could use 'purchase', 'acquire', or 'consume'. Furthermore, there are minor issues with word choice, such as 'experience it' when referring to a product, which is slightly unnatural in this context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'advertisement make us'), missing articles, and punctuation errors, such as the lack of capitalization at the start of sentences. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are persistent. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over complex structures and ensure consistent accuracy in basic grammar, particularly regarding pluralization and sentence-level mechanics.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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