Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-01
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 6.5)
In the modern digital age, advertising has become a unavoidable part of our regular life. While some argue that sheer volume of commercial massages has led to consumer apathy and indifference, other believes that advertising remain a potent tool to drive consumer behavior. In my opinion, generic adds are often ignored, modern targeted marketing makes advertising more persuasive than ever.
On the one hand, experts argue that advertising effectiveness is dropping due to an overcrowded market. Consumers today are bombarded with thousands of promotional massages across the television, billboards and social media platforms where individuals subconciously filter out commercial content. Furthermore the widespread adoption of ad blocking software that bypasses commercial breaks indicates growing resistance. Consequently, many traditional advertisements simply blend into the background noise of modern life without registering in the consumer's mind.
On the other hand, it is argued that advertisment is remarkably effective because it has evolved beyond simple visual representation. Rather than merely informing the public about a product, modern advertising leverages sophisticated psychological techniques to create artificial needs and associate brands with status, identity, or emotional fulfillment. When consumers see a luxury lifestyle portrayed in a perfume or automobile commercial, they are persuaded not by the utility of the product, but by the desire for the identity it promises.
In my view, advertising remains exceptionally persuasive due to data-driven personalization. With the revolution of artificial intelligence and digital tracking, companies can now deliver hyper-targeted ads directly to individuals based on their browsing history and personal preferences. An advertisement that appears on an individual’s social media feed precisely when they are contemplating a purchase is far too relevant to be ignored. Therefore, while broadcast-style advertising may be declining in effectiveness, personalized marketing continues to wield immense influence over consumer choices. Nowadays advertising through memes became a global marketing phenomenon as it gives a consumer a sense of comedy through the perspective of the product.
In conclusion, although omnipresence of traditional adds has certainly diminish the ability to capture attention, I believe that psychologically sophisticated and data-driven advertising remains extraordinarily successful at influencing consumer to purchase their habit.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the distinction between traditional broadcast advertising and modern, data-driven marketing. The position is consistent throughout the essay. While the final sentence regarding 'memes' feels slightly disconnected from the main argument, the overall task response is strong and demonstrates a clear understanding of the requirements. The essay is well-structured and maintains a logical flow of ideas, effectively balancing the two perspectives presented in the task.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized with clear paragraphing. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'Consequently' are used effectively to link ideas. However, there are minor instances where the flow could be smoother, such as the transition to the point about memes in the fourth paragraph, which feels slightly abrupt. Overall, the use of referencing and substitution is generally accurate, and the structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates a good range of vocabulary, including terms like 'consumer apathy', 'potent tool', 'hyper-targeted', and 'omnipresence'. There are some spelling errors, such as 'unavoidable' (should be 'an unavoidable'), 'massages' (used instead of 'messages'), 'subconciously', and 'adds' (used instead of 'ads'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. The student attempts to use more sophisticated vocabulary, which is appropriate for an academic task, though word choice occasionally falters, such as 'purchase their habit' in the conclusion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('other believes' instead of 'others believe', 'advertising remain' instead of 'advertising remains') and article usage errors ('a unavoidable'). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentences would benefit from more careful proofreading. Despite these errors, the meaning is always clear, and the complexity of the sentence structures demonstrates a reasonable level of control, justifying a solid score in this category.
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