Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-03
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 often argued that advertising is highly effective in persuading people to purchase products, while many other individuals believe that advertising have become so common that people no longer pay attention to them. This essay will discuss both views before explaining my own opinion.
One of the major benefits of advertising is that it attracts many people's attention by introducing new products to consumers. Moreover, advertising posters and billboards are often very attractive because of its unique pictures, while videos and slogans through social media and online advertising on different platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and whatever can target specific groups and can influence large number of people. In addition, discounts and special offers available on different products can encourage people to buy them even when they did not originally need them. For instance, a person sees an advertisement for a new smartphone, he likes it features and become interested, then it is quite possible that he will decide to buy it even if he don't need it.
On the other hand, people see a lot of advertisements everywhere in their daily life through TV, YouTube, websites, social media or even from billboards etc. For this reason, people become less interested and in most of the cases, people already know the products they want. This is a big reason for which people find advertisements annoying and skip them.
According to my perspective, I would say that advertising can still influence people's buying decisions. However,
its effectiveness depends on the type of products and consumers. Repeated advertisements may be ignored because they are quite distracting for individuals. Nevertheless, I believe that creative and relevant advertisements can still attract attention.
In conclusion, although, advertising influences on people and their buying decisions because of its unique attracting features. Nevertheless, I believe that effective and creative advertisements can attract people's attention because most of the time, people may ignore advertisements.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task, discussing both the view that advertising is extremely successful at persuading people and the view that it is too common to notice, while also providing a personal opinion. However, some ideas remain under-developed or repetitive. For example, the arguments regarding social media platforms and discounts are introduced but lack deep extension. The position is stated, but the conclusion slightly contradicts itself and lacks clear progression in synthesizing the final thought. To move higher, the ideas require more thorough explanation and deeper insight rather than general statements.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing separating the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, the progression is sometimes hampered by mechanical or repetitive cohesive devices, such as the frequent use of 'Moreover', 'In addition', and 'Nevertheless'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as when pronouns like 'it' or 'they' lack precise antecedents, as seen in the phrase 'because of its unique pictures, while videos and slogans... can target specific groups and can influence large number of people'. To achieve a higher level, the writer needs to employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices without over-relying on basic connectors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'persuading', 'billboards', and 'discounts'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'online advertising on different platforms... and whatever' and 'According to my perspective', which is an awkward blend of idioms. Additionally, some minor errors in word form occur, such as 'large number of people' missing the article 'a'. To progress, the writer should incorporate more precise, natural, and sophisticated vocabulary with greater control over collocation and style.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response utilizes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are often accompanied by frequent errors. There are issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'advertising have become', article usage like 'a person sees... he likes it features and become interested, then it is quite possible', and pronoun reference errors such as 'if he don't need it'. Punctuation and sentence boundaries also show instability, leading to run-on structures. To reach a higher standard, the writer must demonstrate better control over complex sentence patterns and significantly reduce basic grammatical errors.
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