Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-27

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)

A considerable number of individuals believe that advertising is extremely successful at convincing us to purchase thing, others believe that advertising is so frequent that we no longer pay attention to it. From my perspective, advertisement techniques gather a lot of citizens interest and forces them to buy different things.

Nowadays, social media usage has been increased and so the online businesses. A lot of people work from home having their social media pages and websites for running their businesses. Another significant factor is that their marketing strategy is so strong that it gains adult's interest. For example, when a person constantly sees an advertisement of something he is thinking to purchase, social media will automatically show similar adds. This the key reason for why many people finds it convenient to shop everything online. On the other hand, advertising something by distributing pamphlets is another technique of making their business successful as people will look into the information given on it. Another example regarding advertisements of clothes and fashion trends indicates that if something is trendy, it will gain attention and people will intentionally get it.

Despite that some of the public find it successful, there are some people who no longer focus on these marketing strategies. For example, tv commercials are so common nowadays that people find it distracting and prefer to skip it. Another reason for ignoring is that some individuals ignore this promotional material while scrolling on social media because they find it unrelated. For instance, someone using internet for educational purpose will get distracted with useless promotional videos.

In conclusion, I believe that these promotion techniques are more successful regardless of being so common. These strategies spontaneously gather attention of local communities due to which they get convinced to buy particular things.

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 uneven. The argument regarding the success of advertising is supported by examples like social media algorithms, but the counter-argument regarding why people ignore ads is less developed. The essay would benefit from more depth in explaining the psychological reasons behind why consumers might become 'ad-blind' or indifferent, rather than just listing examples like skipping commercials. The position is consistent throughout, but the supporting points could be more thoroughly explored to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Another significant factor', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and there are instances where the flow between sentences could be smoother. For example, the jump from social media marketing to physical pamphlets is abrupt. Referencing is generally clear, though some sentences are slightly disjointed, which prevents the essay from reaching a higher level of cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at using less common vocabulary, such as 'spontaneously' and 'promotional material'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice or minor errors, such as 'purchase thing' (should be 'things'), 'citizens interest' (should be 'citizens' interest'), and 'adds' (should be 'ads'). These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more precision in word choice and better attention to pluralization and possessive forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('many people finds it', 'social media usage has been increased') and article usage. Punctuation is mostly functional, but there are some run-on sentences and missing commas that affect the readability. The control over complex structures is inconsistent, and while the errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they occur frequently enough to limit the score in this criterion.

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