Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-12
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)
Advertising is an important part of modern life. Some people believe that advertisements are very successful in making people buy products. However, others think that people do not notice advertisements because they see them everywhere.
On the one hand, advertising can persuade people to buy products. companies use attractive pictures, famous people and special offers to get people's attention. For example, when people see an advertisement for a new mobile phone. They may become interested in buying it. Advertisements also tell people about new products and their benefits. Therefore , advertising can have a strong influence on customers.
On the other hand, some people believe that advertising has became too common people see advertisement on television, social media, websites, buses and many others places every day. because of this, they may ignore advertisements and skip them as soon as possible.
In my opinion, both views are partly correct. people may ignore many advertisements because there are so many advertisements but a creative can still influence people.
In conclusion, advertising can persuade people to buy people can also ignore it when they see too many advertisements. I believe good and creative advertising is still successful.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on advertising—its persuasiveness versus its ubiquity leading to indifference—and provides a personal opinion. However, the response falls significantly short of the required 250-word minimum, containing only 194 words. This under-length impacts the depth of idea development, leading to over-generalised points and limited support, such as the brief example of a mobile phone. Consequently, the task achievement is constrained by the length penalty, preventing the score from reaching the higher bands.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into distinct paragraphs, following a logical layout for an essay with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing both views, a personal opinion, and a conclusion. Basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'For example', and 'Therefore' are employed to guide the reader. However, paragraphing is somewhat simplistic, and referencing is occasionally faulty, such as in the sentence 'a creative can still influence people', where the noun phrase is incomplete. Cohesion is mechanical at times, placing this text firmly in the band 6 category for logical arrangement and progression.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, using appropriate terms related to the topic such as 'advertisements', 'persuading', 'benefits', 'customers', and 'social media'. However, the range is limited and repetitive, with several word choice and form errors, such as 'advertising has became too common' (incorrect verb form) and 'many others places' (grammatical error in collocation). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the message, fitting the band 5 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'when people see an advertisement for a new mobile phone. They may become interested in buying it', which incorrectly fragments a complex sentence into a separate period. There are several punctuation and capitalization errors, such as missing capital letters at the start of sentences ('companies', 'people', 'because') and a stray comma in 'Therefore , advertising'. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear, corresponding to a band 5 or 6 grammar profile, but due to basic structural slips, a 5.5 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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