The main purpose of advertising is to increase the sales of products that people don’t really need.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 2 question on IELTSX. The main purpose of advertising is to increase the sales of products that people don’t really need.

Main purpose of advertising is to increase sales of products that people do not really need - IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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 · 307 words.

The primary goal of marketing is to enhance the income of items that unnecessary for individuals.I strongly agree with thise idea for some reasons. Advertizing can countribute to several issues such as overspending,impulsive purchases and lead to artificial emotions.

Advertizement create the needs that are artificial rather than natural.Many items arent vital, but advertizements creat sense of necessarity.Marketing

asosiate products with status, emotions and up-to-date technology.For example luxury watches or state-of-the-art phones,company Apple have huge profit that is delivered by succesfull promotional campaigns. Individuals from around the world purcgase their products from phones to headphones the mein reason why they mainly choose thise brand is the status and features.However it leads to spontanius purchases,therefore people may have financial disbalance and debts.

Furthermore marketing can reduce rational decision making by shaping perception instead of allowing objective comparison. Instead of focusing on price or quality, advertisements overwhelm consumers with slogans, visuals, and branding techniques. As a result, people often make choices based on image rather than actual need. For instance, two electronic devices may have very similar features, but the more aggressively advertised one tends to attract more buyers simply due to its visibility in the market.

Furthermore, modern advertising is heavily focused on selling a lifestyle rather than the product itself. Companies try to associate their goods with success, freedom, or social status, encouraging consumers to buy into an identity rather than a necessity. A clear example of this is car advertising, where vehicles are rarely presented as simple transport tools but rather as symbols of prestige and personal achievement. This approach promotes unnecessary consumption driven by aspiration instead of need.

In conclusion, I strongly agree that the primary purpose of advertising is to increase sales of unnecessary products. It achieves this by encouraging brand competition, influencing perception, and promoting lifestyle images rather than addressing real consumer needs.

Examiner feedback

The essay provides a strong, well-reasoned argument that addresses the prompt effectively. While the later paragraphs show a high level of sophistication and control, the score is weighed down by frequent spelling and grammatical errors in the earlier sections. Overall, it demonstrates a clear logical structure and a good grasp of the required task.

Task Response - 7

- Addresses all parts of the task by arguing that advertising creates artificial needs and sells lifestyles. - Presents a clear position throughout the response, strongly agreeing with the prompt. - Ideas are relevant and supported with examples (Apple, luxury watches, cars), though the first body paragraph's examples are slightly less focused than the others.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Information and ideas are organized logically with a clear progression from introduction to conclusion. - Each paragraph has a clear central topic, particularly well-defined in the later body paragraphs. - A range of cohesive devices is used (Furthermore, As a result, In conclusion), though the transition between the first and second body paragraph could be smoother.

Lexical Resource - 6

- An adequate range of vocabulary is used, with some attempts at sophisticated terms like 'artificial emotions' and 'state-of-the-art'. - There are several spelling errors (Advertizement, asosiate, purcgase, mein, spontanius) and awkward collocations ('enhance the income of items'). - Vocabulary becomes significantly more precise and accurate in the second and third body paragraphs.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 6

- Uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with better accuracy in the latter half of the essay. - The first body paragraph contains several errors in grammar and punctuation (e.g., 'company Apple have', 'thise brand'). - Frequent spelling and minor grammatical slips are present in the opening section, though they rarely impede communication.

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