Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-19

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)

Some people argue that advertising is highly effective at persuading consumers to purchase products, whereas others believe that it has become outdated and is no longer effective. I disagree with the latter view because advertising continues to influence consumer behaviour, particularly through digital platforms.

One major reason why advertising remains effective is the widespread use of smartphones and social media. Businesses can target potential customers according to their interests and online activities. For example, when someone searches for a particular product, social media platforms may display advertisements related to that search. As a result, consumers become aware of products that they may be interested in purchasing

Another important benefit of advertising is that it helps businesses introduce their products to a wider audience. This is particularly useful for small businesses that need to attract customers and increase sales. For instance, a new business can promote its products through social media instead of relying solely on expensive billboards. Consequently, advertising can help businesses reach more customers at a relatively low cost

In conclusion, I disagree with the view that advertising is outdated. In my opinion, it remains an important business tool because digital advertising allows companies to reach potential customers effectively and promote their products at a comparatively low cost.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both views regarding whether advertising is persuasive or ignored, and you clearly state your own position disagreeing with the view that it is ineffective. You present relevant ideas such as digital targeting and supporting small businesses. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and the response falls significantly short of the minimum word count requirement, containing only 209 words instead of the required 250. This under-length impacts your ability to fully extend and support your arguments, which places this response firmly in Band 5 for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

Your essay demonstrates a clear overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs supporting your view, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as smartphone targeting in the first body paragraph and benefits for small businesses in the second. Cohesive devices like 'For example', 'Another important benefit', and 'Consequently' are utilized to connect your sentences and paragraphs. However, because the text is short, the logical progression is brief, though the relationships between ideas remain clear throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'consumer behaviour', 'widespread use', 'potential customers', and 'comparatively low cost'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary related to the topic of commerce and advertising. Word choices are generally appropriate and communication is not impeded by lexical errors. However, the vocabulary lacks the wider, more flexible range and precision characteristic of higher bands, as some phrases are somewhat repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and subordinate clauses in sentences like 'when someone searches for a particular product, social media platforms may display advertisements related to that search.' Grammatical control is fairly good, with many error-free sentences, and punctuation is generally handled correctly. While there are minor omissions such as missing full stops at the end of some body paragraphs, the errors do not impede communication at all.

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

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