Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

The success of any product depends on how good and effective the marketing is. Marketing and advertisement is the backbone of any product campaign. If a product's advertisement, let's assume it to be digital, has good storyline, effective communication and eye catching display, it can surely impact the overall profit of the manufacturing company.

It's very true to say that many ads and marketing campaigns motivate us the buy the product. For example, let's talk about Parle-G ( a biscuit ). It is very hard to find a home, especially in India, where this product has not been tried. A simple yet convincing advertisement idea where they are talking about gaining strength after eating the biscuit, which was not only appreciated by children, but adults too. A portrait of a small girl holding the biscuit made the packaging simple and attractive. In result, Parle-G is, till date, one of the most profitable biscuit company in India.

On the other hand, it's also not incorrect to say that over displaying a product can ruin it's impact and reliability. Everyone hates when there is a similar advertisement being played again and again in between breaks of an interesting cricket match. This not only creates frustration but also degrades the value of the product. In such a scenario, a person's mind automatically registers that the only reason for over playing an item's ad could be it's lack of sales.

Attention span of today's generation is comparatively lesser than the previous one and that also could be one of the reason for the lack of attention.

In my opinion, if a company really wants to spread the idea of their product, they should do it in a confined and crisp manner. No need to create a large advertisement, rather keep it compact and convincing. At last, but not the least, avoid overplaying it in any platform by paying extra money because it only wastes time and energy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear opinion: advertising can persuade consumers, but excessive repetition can make it irritating and less effective. The Parle-G example supports the first view, while the repeated adverts during cricket matches illustrate the second. Your recommendation to keep advertising concise and avoid overplaying it also makes your position clear. However, some points are not fully developed. The claim that the biscuit’s advertisement led to its profitability is asserted rather than explained, and the point about shorter attention spans is brief and not clearly connected to why people ignore advertising. Develop these links and explain more directly how advertising persuades people as well as how familiarity can cause them to tune it out.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” help signal the change in perspective, and the examples generally appear in relevant places. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven. The discussion of Parle-G moves from the advertisement to packaging and then profitability without clearly showing how each point connects. The sentence about attention spans feels added on rather than integrated into the argument about advertising becoming commonplace. Some linking phrases, including “At last, but not the least,” are awkward or overly formulaic. Use clearer links between claims and evidence, and organise each paragraph around one main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “marketing campaigns,” “advertisement,” “impact,” “reliability,” and “attention span,” so the main ideas are understandable. There are also attempts at more descriptive phrasing, such as “simple yet convincing.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “over displaying a product,” “over playing an item’s ad,” and “degrades the value” do not express the intended ideas precisely. “Manufacturing company” is also unnecessarily specific where “company” or “brand” would fit better. Spelling and apostrophe errors, such as “it's” for possessive “its,” affect accuracy. Aim for natural collocations and check word forms and spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional phrasing (“If a product’s advertisement… has… it can…”) and a contrast introduced by “On the other hand.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “Marketing and advertisement is” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “one of the reason” needs a plural noun. The sentence beginning “A simple yet convincing advertisement idea…” is a fragment, while “which was not only appreciated…” has an unclear reference. There are also errors in articles and sentence construction, as in “a person's mind automatically registers that the only reason… could be it's lack of sales.” Review agreement, complete sentence structure, and pronoun reference, while continuing to vary sentence patterns.

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