The society would benefit from a ban on all forms of advertising because it serves no useful purpose, and can even be damaging.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 2 question on IELTSX. The society would benefit from a ban on all forms of advertising because it serves no useful purpose, and can even be damaging.

Ban All Forms of Advertising Benefit Society - IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Write at least 250 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 6.5 ยท 251 words.

There is a view that prohibiting all kinds of advertising would be beneficial to society as it has no useful purpose and can be harmful. Personally, I completely disagree with this notion for several reasons.

One reason behind my disagreement lies in the usefulness of commercials. Nowadays, more and more companies rely heavily on advertisements because of the highly competitive market and limited consumer attention. This trend, thereby, can lead to many benefits for society as companies of all sizes will try to improve the quality and lower the price of their upcoming products. Take Honor, for example, the company itself is very popular across many countries for their low-priced and high-quality mobile phones. Despite this popularity, the company still uses advertising in order to introduce new products to give them enough recognition among public.

Furthermore, another major advantage behind using advertisements lies in its informational function. Many people use modern technologies in order to obtain new insights to improve their lifestyles. Consequently, advertising can play a pivotal role as it can assist many individuals to know about upcoming movies, products and medicines. Social media sites, for instance, often deliver essential information, which can be very useful for people across all nations. In such contexts, advertising not solely serves in commercial purposes but in social ones as well.

In conclusion, although some people believe that advertising serves no useful purpose and can be damaging, it is my firm conviction that advertising is necessary in modern society for the reasons mentioned above.

Examiner feedback

The essay presents a clear and well-organized argument against the ban on advertising, demonstrating good control of complex grammatical structures and a solid vocabulary range. To reach a higher band, the writer should provide more rigorous logical development for claims and more directly address the 'damaging' aspect of the prompt.

Task Response - 6

- The candidate addresses all parts of the task and presents a clear position of disagreement. - Main ideas are relevant, but the argument regarding how advertising leads to 'lower prices' is somewhat inadequately developed and logical links are thin. - While the 'damaging' aspect mentioned in the prompt is acknowledged in the introduction/conclusion, it is not deeply explored or refuted in the body paragraphs.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Information and ideas are logically organized with a clear progression from the introduction to the conclusion. - Each paragraph focuses on a clear central topic (economic competition and informational value). - Cohesive devices like 'Consequently' and 'In such contexts' are used appropriately, though some transitions like 'This trend, thereby' are slightly mechanical.

Lexical Resource - 7

- Sufficient range of vocabulary allows for flexibility and precision (e.g., 'pivotal role', 'limited consumer attention'). - Uses less common lexical items like 'notion' and 'conviction' with awareness of style. - Occasional errors in collocation or word choice (e.g., 'serves in commercial purposes' instead of 'serves commercial purposes').

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 7

- A variety of complex structures are used, such as 'not solely serves in... but in social ones as well'. - Frequent error-free sentences are produced throughout the response. - Good control of grammar and punctuation is evident, with only minor awkward phrasing (e.g., 'recognition among public').

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