Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-29
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)
It is argued that advertising is so common that we even don't bother other's argue it is very attractive that we even cannot stop our selves to buy stuff. In this essay, I am going to discuss both views.
From my perspective, nowadays ads are promoting in such a different way that we buy the product wrether we need it or not. The marketing strategies are awesome, they hire new models and collaborate with the famous Tiktokers and Instagram influencers. When we see our favourite vloggers using new products and giving good reviews, we buy the same product. For instance, cosmatic companies are hiring beautiful faces when we see these faces we feel curious to get that type of skin. There is another marketing strategy in which they give heavy discounts on products and individuals buy these products because they are on sale and cheaper.
On the other hand, some advertisements are so irritating that we don't want to see, such as Pop-up ads and Whats App ads. In our daily routine when we see these types of irrelevant ads we stop seeing. Even though some people pay to stop adds. For example, Pepsi company is now advertising through social media and Tv ads poeple are now used of it. They don't pay attention to it.
In conclusion, companies are now becoming successful by advertising their products on Tv, Instragram and even through discounts. Through these strategies more people buy the product. In contrast, random adds are no longer in attention.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on advertising and stating a clear position throughout the essay. The essay explores how modern marketing strategies successfully persuade consumers to buy items, while also acknowledging the counterview that common or irritating ads are ignored. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, relying on simplistic explanations and generalizations. For instance, the mention of cosmetic companies hiring models or Pepsi advertising on social media lacks detailed elaboration to fully support the arguments. Because the response addresses all parts of the task with a clear position but offers only basic development of ideas, it aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs reflecting the two views, and a conclusion. However, the progression is sometimes hampered by mechanical or faulty cohesion, as seen in awkward transitions like 'other's argue it is very attractive that we even cannot stop our selves'. Paragraphing is used to separate the opposing viewpoints, but referencing within and between sentences is occasionally unclear. Cohesive devices are used in a basic manner ('On the other hand', 'In conclusion') rather than with flexibility. These characteristics place the response firmly at Band 5.5 to 6.0, fitting best into the Band 6 descriptor where cohesion is sometimes faulty and referencing is not always clear.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday ideas related to marketing and consumer habits. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'marketing strategies', 'collaborate', and 'irrelevant', but these are accompanied by noticeable word-choice errors, awkward collocations, and spelling mistakes (e.g., 'wrether', 'cosmatic', 'poeple', 'used of it' instead of 'used to it', 'adds' instead of 'ads'). While communication is not severely impeded and the meaning remains clear, the frequency of lexical inaccuracies prevents the score from rising into the higher bands, making Band 5.0 the most appropriate reflection of the student's current control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles, incorrect prepositions, run-on sentences, and fragment issues (e.g., 'we even don't bother other's argue', 'ads are promoting in such a different way', 'we stop seeing'). Despite these frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, the sentences are generally simple enough that communication is rarely entirely blocked. The limitations in complex structure control and the accumulation of basic errors position this performance within the Band 5 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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