Sample response & feedback

Advertising Power vs Consumer Indifference

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 these views and give your own opinion.

Annotated response

11 correction notes

Showing 11 correction notes.

These days, advertising has become increasingly pervasive in our daily lives. While some argue that advertising is successful at persuading us to buy things, others claim that we are no longer paying attention to it. In my opinion, advertisements are not as effective at influencing our purchasing decisions as they once were.

Proponents of the effectiveness of advertising argue that it wields significant persuasive power over consumers. Advertisements employ various techniques such as emotional appeals, celebrity endorsements, and catchy slogans to capture our attention and shape our perceptions of products or services. For instance, consider a television commercial that portrays a glamorous celebrity using a particular beauty product, leading consumers to associate the product with desirability and success. Moreover, advertising leverages psychological principles such as social proof and scarcity to create a sense of urgency and entice consumers to make immediate purchasing decisions.

On the other hand, the sheer volume of advertising that we are exposed to on a daily basis has led to a phenomenon known as "advertising fatigue". People are inundated with they have developed the ability to tune them out. According to a study conducted by Hubspot, over 90% of online ads are ignored, and the majority of people skip or ignore TV ads. With so many ads bombarding us constantly, it's no surprise that we have become desensitized to them. , consumers today are . With the rise of social media, we are constantly bombarded with messages from people and companies trying to sell us something. As a result, people have become savvier about marketing tactics and are more likely to research products before making a purchase. Additionally, the rise of fake news and disinformation has made people warier about advertisers and their claims.

In conclusion, while advertising was once an effective way to influence consumers, the current climate of constant ads has led to a phenomenon of advertising fatigue. Consumers today are more likely to be sceptical of marketing claims and are more likely to research products before making a purchase. Therefore, in my opinion, advertisements are not as effective at persuading us to buy things as they once were.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.5

The response fully addresses both views and presents a consistent, clearly signalled personal opinion, with well-developed paragraphs and relevant supporting detail. Its strongest aspect is the fluent, precise language showing good lexical and grammatical range. The main limitation is a somewhat formulaic structure and a heavy reliance on restatement rather than deeper extension of ideas in places.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

TR Task Response

7.5

The essay addresses all parts of the task, discussing both views with a clear and consistent opinion, though development relies on somewhat generalised support in places.

CC Coherence and Cohesion

7.5

Ideas are logically organised with clear progression and effective cohesive devices, although linking is occasionally mechanical, such as the abrupt use of 'Secondly'.

LR Lexical Resource

7.5

Vocabulary is flexible and precise, with natural collocations like 'wields significant persuasive power' and 'advertising fatigue', though some phrasing is slightly formulaic.

GRA Grammatical Range and Accuracy

8.0

A wide range of complex structures is used with strong control, and errors are rare and minor, such as the unnecessary comma separating 'so many ads' from the result clause introduced by 'that'.