Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-06
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)
It is often argued that advertisements are primarily essential in promoting any objects, while others argue that advertising is widespread so we should not pay attention to it. This essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my own opinion. In my opinion, promoting any things by advertising is beneficial because companies can build trust with their customers by providing everything through online platforms.
On the one hand, advocates of this view argue that online advertisements frequently appeared at any time to provide reliable service to clients. This is vital nowadays to promote things because people get the idea just by sitting from their homes. This means that both companies and customers got benefits by ensuring good service. For instance, individuals do online shopping from different international brands such as Ali Baba and Daraz. They yield reliable customer service to everyone throughout the world. Therefore, advertising is really beneficial for promoting commodities.
On the other hand, supporters of the opposing view contend that advertising is so common and we do not need to waste our precious time to pay attention to them.
As when we are scrolling on different social media platforms, they seem to appear first in order to promote specific objects. Numerous advertising are just wasting our quality time so we need to minimize the numbers of these ads. For example, on Facebook, too many ads are just played before the original content, therefore we just ignore these ads which do not have any advantages. I remain convinced that advertising plays a pivotal role in promoting objects that may produce benefits in the long run.
In conclusion, both viewpoints have valid arguments. However, I firmly believe that advertisements ought to be continued for the promotion of specific objects.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The arguments regarding why advertising is successful are generic, focusing primarily on online shopping without exploring the psychological impact of advertising. The second view, that people ignore ads, is better supported by the example of social media, but the explanation remains superficial. To reach a higher band, you should provide more depth in your reasoning—for example, discussing how targeted algorithms make ads more persuasive or how 'ad fatigue' leads to consumer indifference. The position is consistent, but the supporting arguments lack the necessary complexity for a higher score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow between sentences within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition between the general statement about online shopping and the specific example of 'Ali Baba' is a bit abrupt. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as 'they seem to appear' in the second paragraph, where the antecedent for 'they' is not explicitly stated. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'pivotal role,' 'commodities,' and 'advocates.' However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations. For example, 'promoting any objects' is unnatural; 'promoting products' or 'marketing goods' would be more accurate. Similarly, 'yield reliable customer service' is not the standard collocation for this context. You rely on some repetitive phrasing, such as 'promoting objects' and 'good service.' To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that your word choices fit the specific context of the topic.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally affect clarity. For example, 'online advertisements frequently appeared' should be 'appear' (tense consistency), and 'Numerous advertising are' is incorrect as 'advertising' is an uncountable noun; it should be 'A large number of advertisements are.' There are also issues with article usage and pluralization, such as 'promoting any things.' While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to limit the score. Increasing your control over subject-verb agreement and article usage is essential.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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