Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-28

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)

There is a growing debate regarding wheter advertising is extremely succesful at persuading us to purchase things however other people think that advertising is so common that we no longer pay attention to it. In my own opinion advertisement is still an effective way to attract people to buy products.

Advertising is one of the most effective strategies that companies study to attract consumers. People are often persuaded to products that are showed to them. With advertising, people can experience what a certain product shows by how it is used. Celebrities and famous individuals are mostly hired for advertising making average people feel guaranteed. Although, advertising change it's style and has evolved all throughout, from radios to televison now content creation and endorsement through social medias. I believe that it still has it's way to introduce and showcase it's main purpose.

While others think that with numerous advertising that we see everyday, it become so common that we no longer have the attention span for it. This may be true with people who don't like repetitive promises with several products saying the exact tag line. For example, energy drinks that are showed by sports enthusiasts and olympic players says gatorade is the best in market while other says it's redbull. Celebrities endorsing beauty products like ponds and loreal, both seem to show the same effects. This resulted to people losing it's interest and trust to watching advertising.

Advertising has different approach on how to attract consumers and people to actually buy things. Although it can be boring and usual to encounter it in a variety of platforms. I believe that the reason it still exists today is because it's still effective and has success rate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that advertising is very successful at persuasion and that it is too common to be noticed—while also providing a clear personal opinion. The student introduces their stance in the introduction and reiterates it in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on generalisations rather than deep elaboration. For instance, the examples regarding energy drinks and beauty products are a bit repetitive and under-developed, lacking specific analysis of why consumers tune out. While the core task requirements are met, the depth of explanation aligns closely with Band 6 expectations, where relevant ideas are presented but remain slightly superficial.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the two differing views. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by mechanical or faulty cohesive devices. For example, sentences are sometimes linked abruptly, such as starting a body paragraph with 'While others think that with numerous advertising...', which lacks a complete independent clause structure. Referencing is also imprecise in places, such as 'This resulted to people losing it's interest'. While logical organisation is present, the frequent minor cohesion faults and simplistic transitional phrases restrict the score to a solid Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas about advertising, consumers, and products. There are attempts at less common vocabulary items, such as 'content creation', 'endorsement', and 'sports enthusiasts', but these are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and form. For instance, the writer uses 'persuaded to products' instead of 'persuaded to buy products', 'showed' instead of 'shown', and repetitive possessive errors like 'it's style' and 'it's success rate' instead of 'its'. Spelling and word formation slips occur regularly, placing this response firmly in the Band 5 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing prepositions, incorrect verb forms ('advertisement is still an effective way', 'products that are showed'), punctuation flaws, and persistent confusion between 'its' (possessive) and 'it's' (contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'). Furthermore, run-on sentences and fragmented clauses appear, such as the opening sentence: 'There is a growing debate regarding wheter advertising is extremely succesful at persuading us to purchase things however other people think...'. These errors can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, matching the Band 5 descriptor.

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