Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-20

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)

Advertising plays a significant role in modern society, with businesses investing heavily in promotional campaigns to influence consumers' purchasing decisions. While some people argue that advertising remains highly effective, others believe that its widespread presence has made people less responsive to it. On the one hand, advertising can be an effective means of persuading consumers because it creates interest in products and emphasizes their advantages. By presenting products as useful, innovative, or desirable, advertisements can influence people's preferences and encourage them to make purchases. For example, a smartphone advertisement may highlight advanced camera technology, long battery life, and other features that appeal to potential customers. Consequently, even people who had not initially intended to purchase a new phone may begin to consider doing so. In this way, advertising can shape consumer behavior by drawing attention to the perceived benefits of a product. On the other hand, the sheer volume of advertising that people encounter daily may have reduced its effectiveness. Consumers are constantly exposed to promotional content on television, social media, websites, mobile apps, and public spaces. As a result, repeated exposure can cause people to become indifferent to advertisements and deliberately ignore them. For instance, many internet users automatically skip ads before online videos because they encounter similar promotional messages so frequently. Therefore, although advertising remains widespread, its ability to capture consumers' attention may be diminished by overexposure. In conclusion, advertising can influence purchasing decisions by creating interest and emphasizing the benefits of products. Nevertheless, I believe its persuasive power is limited to some extent since consumers are exposed to so much advertising that they often tune it out

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task thoroughly, presenting both views regarding the effectiveness and the overexposure of advertising while clearly stating a personal opinion in the conclusion. The introduction sets a solid foundation, and the body paragraphs develop ideas well with relevant explanations and examples. For instance, the example of a smartphone advertisement clearly illustrates how advertising creates interest, while the mention of internet users skipping ads demonstrates why attention may be diminished. The position is maintained consistently throughout the essay, and the main ideas are extended sufficiently to satisfy the requirements of the prompt. Therefore, this response meets the criteria for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with a balanced introduction, moving to separate body paragraphs for each view, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'While some people argue', 'On the one hand', 'For example', and 'On the other hand' are used effectively to guide the reader through the arguments. Referencing is clear, and paragraphing is managed appropriately. While the cohesive mechanisms are somewhat standard rather than sophisticated, they function smoothly without causing confusion, aligning well with the descriptors for a Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Words and phrases such as 'significant role', 'purchasing decisions', 'innovative', and 'overexposure' demonstrate a sufficient range for some flexibility and precision. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style and collocation, such as 'indifferent to advertisements' and 'promotional content'. Although there are no glaring spelling or word-choice errors, the vocabulary remains fairly conventional rather than truly sophisticated or wide-ranging. This puts the response comfortably within the Band 7.0 level for Lexical Resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer demonstrates good control of grammar and punctuation, employing a mix of simple and complex sentence structures successfully. Examples of complex structures include 'While some people argue that advertising remains highly effective, others believe that...' and 'Consequently, even people who had not initially intended to purchase a new phone may begin to consider doing so.' The majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation is handled correctly throughout the essay. While the range of structures is somewhat standard rather than exceptionally diverse, the accuracy is high and communication is never impeded. This performance warrants a Band 7.0 score.

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