Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-08

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)

There is widespread debate whether people are likely to purchase things after watching advertisements or these ads have become so much frequent that people don't focus on them and usually skip them. This essay will discuss both views before explaining why I believe advertisements mostly annoy people and they try to find ways to avoid them.

On the one hand, marketing teams run advertisements after careful considerations in areas where they have the audience who can buy their products. Furthermore, the ads are designed in a way that they explain the audience their needs and market their products as the solution. People mostly buy products that are recommended by actors and influencers. Marketing teams understand this human psychology and hire actors for their ads because they know people will follow them. For example, detergents ads show before and after results and convince people that it will remove all the stains and people buy it after watching the ad.

On the other hand, people sometimes start doing any other task during the ad break on television. A lot of people don't like watching ads and they intentionally skip them on social media and youtube. In addition, some people also pay to block these ads. For instance, Youtube has a paid subscription and people purchase it to watch videos without ads.

To conclude, advertisements have a role in persuading people to purchase products. However, I believe only a small percentage of people are convinced to buy items just by watching ads. Most of the people are not influence by ads and skip them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and give a clear opinion: advertising can persuade, but you believe most people avoid it. The two body paragraphs are relevant, with examples such as influencer endorsements, detergent demonstrations and paid ad-free subscriptions. This meets the task well, and the position is clear in the introduction and conclusion. However, the two sides are not developed equally: the persuasive effect is explained through several mechanisms, while the view that advertising is too common to attract attention is supported mainly by skipping ads or paying to block them. The conclusion also makes a broad claim that only a small percentage are persuaded without supporting it. Develop this second view further and qualify generalisations to make the discussion more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” make the essay’s direction explicit. Examples are generally placed alongside the point they support, which helps the reader understand the argument. To make the organisation more flexible and cohesive, reduce reliance on formulaic transitions and connect ideas within paragraphs more precisely. For example, the move from targeted advertising to celebrity endorsements could explain more explicitly how each contributes to persuasion. Also clarify references such as “they” in “they intentionally skip them,” so the reader never has to infer who is being discussed.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “marketing teams,” “influencers,” “human psychology,” “subscription,” and “persuading.” These choices allow you to discuss both the influence of advertising and ways people avoid it. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “before and after results.” However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “so much frequent,” “careful considerations,” and “explain the audience their needs.” Repetition of “ads,” “people,” and “buy” also limits flexibility. Aim for more natural collocations and vary key terms—for example, use “advertisements,” “consumers,” and “purchase” where appropriate. Check spelling and capitalisation in “YouTube” as part of careful editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “because they know people will follow them” and a contrastive structure in the conclusion. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “ads are designed in a way that they explain the audience their needs” has an unclear grammatical pattern; “people are not influence by ads” needs a past participle; and “detergents ads” needs a plural form or a different construction. The opening sentence also has an awkward clause structure after “debate.” Review verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence patterns, then proofread each sentence for accuracy. Greater control of these forms would make the argument smoother without sacrificing your attempts at complex sentences.

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