In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some ways. Why is this? Do you think it’s a positive or negative development?
Sample Response
Currently, businesses advertise their products as highly innovativeas the most innovative thing or as a novelty in the market. The reason for that could be people tend to like the next best thing. I think it’s a positive development as companiesthe companies and businesses are forced to innovate and push boundaries in order to create the next best thing for customersachieve that next best thing for the customers. Businesses tend to advertise their products using phrases such asusing tags like new features, new generation, or all new. People are always interested in the trendiestthe most trendy or latest products which are presumably better and more innovative thanbetter and innovative than those they already ownthe ones they already got. For instance, Apple will always market its new products as the best possible version of an existing productbest possible version of the same. If they are advertising a new iPad, it will be presented asthen it will be featured as the new generation of iPad with all its notable upgradesall the flashy upgrades. The key reason is to make people buy the productstuff, persuading them to believecompelling them into this belief that it is better to get the latest version of the same productthat latest version of the same products because it’s new. In this competitive market, where an alternative product for quite literally everything exists. So for businesses to keep selling their products, they really need to innovate and outperform their competitorsbe innovative and better than their competitors. I think emphasising the new featuresemphasizing the newer qualities of the product really gives companies that edge they need so it’s a positive development, from a businessbusinesses perspective of course. If customers’ welfare is taken into account, they are usually trickedthen they usually are tricked into buying the products they don’t actually need due to this advertising which focuses on the new features. On the other hand, they get new and advanced products in a very short amount of time. So to increase their potential buyers, the businesses advertise the latest features in their products and I think it’s a positive development for both customers and businessesfor both, customers and businesses despite some drawbacks for customerswith a tinge of fall back on customer’s side.
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response directly identifies consumer attraction to novelty and competitive pressure, and it considers effects on both businesses and customers before reaching a qualified positive judgment. Its main weakness is presentation: the entire argument forms one paragraph, with repetitive phrasing, fragments, and some imprecise expressions weakening progression. Organise the two questions into separate body paragraphs and develop each claim with clearer causal explanation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both questions are answered with a clear overall view, but some supporting claims remain general or only briefly explained.
Develop the positive and negative consequences more fully before justifying why the benefits ultimately outweigh the drawbacks.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument has an understandable sequence, but the absence of paragraphing and several fragmentary transitions weaken cohesion and progression.
Separate the reasons and evaluation into focused paragraphs, each led by a clear topic sentence.
Lexical Resource
The response uses adequate topic vocabulary and some less common expressions, although repetition and awkward collocations reduce precision.
Replace informal or unclear phrases such as buy the stuff and tinge of fall back with precise academic wording.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Sentence structures show some variety and meaning remains clear, but agreement, possessive, article, and sentence-boundary errors recur.
Edit fragments and run-on sentences first, then check singular-plural agreement and possessive forms systematically.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some ways. Why is this? Do you think it’s a positive or negative development?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.