Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-13

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 7.0)

Advertising is an important part of modern life, and people see advertisements almost everywhere, such as on television, social media, websites and public transport. Some people believe that advertising is very effective in encouraging people to buy products, while others argue that advertisements have become so common that people no longer notice them. This essay will discuss both views and give my opinion.

On the one hand, advertising can be very successful in influencing people's buying decisions. Companies use attractive pictures, special offers and famous people to make their products more interesting to customers. For example, when a popular actor promotes a particular smartphone, many of their fans may become interested in buying it. In addition, advertisements often explain the benefits of a product and provide information about discounts. Therefore, advertising can create a desire for products that people may not have considered buying before.

On the other hand, people are exposed to a huge number of advertisements every day. As a result, many individuals have become used to them and automatically ignore advertisements, especially when browsing the internet or watching videos. For instance, people often skip online advertisements after a few seconds or scroll past sponsored posts on social media. Moreover, consumers can now read reviews and compare products online, so they may not depend only on advertisements when making purchasing decisions.

In my opinion, although people often ignore advertisements because they are so common, advertising is still effective, especially when it is creative and targeted at the right audience. A well-designed advertisement can attract attention and influence customers' choices, while repetitive and uninteresting advertisements are more likely to be ignored.

In conclusion, advertising can strongly persuade people to purchase products, but the large amount of advertising today has also made many people less interested in it. I believe that advertising remains successful when companies use attractive and relevant methods to reach consumers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt effectively. You have clearly discussed both views—the persuasive power of advertising and the tendency for consumers to ignore it—and provided a clear personal opinion in the introduction, body, and conclusion. The ideas are well-developed, such as the mention of celebrity endorsements and the shift toward online consumer research. To reach a higher band, you could further extend your arguments by exploring the psychological impact of 'ad fatigue' or the specific mechanisms companies use to bypass consumer indifference, such as personalized algorithms, which would add more depth to your analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the two opposing views is handled well using standard cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. The use of linking words such as 'Therefore', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' helps guide the reader through your argument. The paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall clarity of the text. The flow is smooth, and the relationship between sentences is consistently logical throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your points with precision. Phrases like 'influencing people's buying decisions', 'exposed to a huge number', and 'purchasing decisions' are used accurately. While the vocabulary is appropriate and natural, it remains somewhat functional. To achieve a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated or less common lexical items, such as 'ubiquitous', 'persuasive efficacy', or 'consumer apathy', which would demonstrate a more flexible and precise control of language in an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

Your writing displays a good command of grammatical structures. You successfully use a mix of simple and complex sentences, such as the conditional structure 'when a popular actor promotes... many of their fans may become interested' and the concessive clause 'although people often ignore advertisements... advertising is still effective'. The punctuation is accurate, and there are very few errors in the text. The majority of your sentences are error-free, which indicates a high level of control. To improve further, ensure you vary your sentence length even more to create a more sophisticated rhythm.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.