Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-05

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)

Nowadays, there are many different ways to advertise an products to the people such as televisions, supplements, billboards and social media platforms which persuaded people to buy such products. There are many people beleived that advertising is extremely successful to persuading people to buy the products. While on the other hand people thinks that advertsing is so common that people no longer pay any attention to it.

At present time, advertisements play vital role in every person life. Majorities of the advertisements people watch are in social media platforms such as youtube, instragram and facebook. It also reaches to the large number of people. In many advertisements company tries to attract people through emotion and with showing relationships. It make people to buy products. For example, if an advertisement showing smartphone which had good colour, camera quality, better performances and different feature which are available in a phone, it make people to search more about the phone and willing them to buy.

On the other hand, many people beleived that advertising is common that it cannot affect them. As vast number of advertisements are available so it become very common for the people to get interested to watch exclusive advertising. Most of the people usually skip advertisements and cannot influenced to buy products after watching advertisements.

In my opinion, people are not paying much attention on advertisements before buying any products. People usually check the reviews of the product before purchasing items which helps them to get more information about products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views on advertising and providing an opinion, which places it within the mid-range of achievement. However, the treatment of the ideas remains somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, while the first body paragraph attempts to explain how advertisements use emotion, the explanation relies on general statements like 'it make people to buy products' rather than extending the argument with deeper analysis or concrete real-world consequences. Similarly, the writer's own opinion in the conclusion is introduced rather abruptly and focuses heavily on product reviews rather than synthesizing the two discussed perspectives fully. To move up, the writer needs to present fully extended ideas with more thorough justifications and a clearer, more developed personal position throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas. However, cohesion is at times faulty and mechanical. The transitions between sentences can feel abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the repetitive use of 'products' and pronouns like 'it' without precise antecedents. While logical sequencing is generally maintained, cohesive devices are sometimes inadequate or overused, particularly transitional phrases like 'At present time' and 'While on the other hand'. To achieve a higher level, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother progression between sentences and paragraphs without relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, but the range is limited and features noticeable errors that sometimes cause difficulty for the reader. There are frequent lexical and word-form inaccuracies, such as 'an products' instead of 'products', 'supplements' instead of 'billboards' or another visual medium in context, and 'beleived' instead of 'believe'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary result in awkward collocations, such as 'exclusive advertising' or 'better performances'. Spelling and word-choice errors are apparent throughout the text, though they generally do not completely impede communication. To progress further, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire, demonstrate greater precision in word choice and collocations, and minimize basic word-formation errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside attempts at complex forms that are often faulty. There are frequent errors in grammar, verb forms, and articles that can cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues such as 'people thinks', tense inconsistencies like 'advertisement showing smartphone which had good colour... it make people', and missing articles in phrases like 'play vital role in every person life'. Punctuation is also basic. Because complex structures tend to be inaccurate, the writing falls short of a higher band where a better mix of error-free complex sentences is required. To improve, the writer needs to focus on mastering basic sentence mechanics, improving verb tense consistency, and managing complex clauses with greater accuracy.

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

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