Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-06
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 5.0)
Nowadays, companies spend a lot of money on promoting their products. While some people believe that we are impressed by advertising to buy new things, others argue that people have less time to think about this because of availability. In my opinion, although advertising is common nowadays, it influenced us in some way.
On the one hand, companies advertise their products such as this is the only one product we need to purchase, as a result we buy the things before thinking is it necessary for us. For example, oversized courts and jackets are becoming popular as some well-known model advertised this, as a result younger people and even older people wear this. Apart from that, in social media, when we watch any products they give us a lot of adds about the products and by influencing we may buy the things.
On the other hand, every company and every people promote themselves nowadays and in social media it becoming more convenient. Sometimes we watched many adds for the same products which confused us and make less attention. Such as, if some products are advertised in several plateforms then it is difficult to understand which one is necessary. Sometimes it make us confused because a lot of company advertised one product. However, companies have the rights to promote themselves but it depends on ourselves to decide which thing is necessary to buy.
To sum up, promoting products give us the information about the products and make us more confused at the same time. So, it is up to us to decide weather to buy a product or not
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'oversized coats' is a specific example but lacks a broader explanation of why advertising is persuasive. The second body paragraph attempts to discuss the 'lack of attention' view but struggles to articulate the concept clearly, repeating the idea of confusion rather than exploring the psychological aspect of ad-blindness. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the 'why' and 'how' behind these phenomena rather than just stating that they occur.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Apart from that', and 'To sum up'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as 'as a result we buy the things before thinking is it necessary'. The flow between sentences is occasionally disrupted by awkward phrasing, which makes the progression of ideas feel a bit disjointed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'this', 'these') is precise would significantly enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There is some repetition of basic terms like 'products', 'advertising', and 'buy'. Some word choices are imprecise or non-idiomatic, such as 'oversized courts' (likely meaning 'coats') and 'plateforms' (spelling error). While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is limited to common, everyday language. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific collocations and synonyms to avoid repetitive phrasing and demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the English language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'every people promote themselves' (should be 'everyone'), 'Sometimes we watched' (tense inconsistency), and 'weather to buy' (spelling error for 'whether'). Subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent throughout the text. While the errors do not completely prevent understanding, they are frequent enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex structures. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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