Cambridge IELTS 15 Test 3 Writing Task 2: Advertising Views
Cambridge IELTS 15 · Test 3 · Academic Writing Task 2Discuss both viewsCulture & lifestyle
The question presents two views about advertising: that it is extremely successful at persuading people to buy things, and that it is now so common that people no longer pay attention to it. Candidates must discuss both views and give their own opinion.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. 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. Write at least 250 words.
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How to read the question
- This is a discussion essay: you must explain both views in a balanced way and also give your own opinion clearly, ideally in the introduction and the conclusion.
- The first view is about persuasion: advertising is extremely successful at making us buy things. Note the strong word extremely.
- The second view is about attention: because advertising is everywhere, people tune it out. Focus on why ubiquity might reduce attention, such as ad blockers, skipping adverts and banner blindness.
- The two views are not necessarily opposites: advertising can still influence us even when we believe we are ignoring it, which offers a strong position for your opinion.
- Your opinion can agree with one view or combine them, but it must be clear, for example that advertising remains effective but works more subtly than before.
- Avoid writing about whether advertising is good or bad for society, or whether it should be banned for children, as these are different questions.
Suggested position
Although people increasingly try to ignore the adverts that surround them, I believe advertising remains highly effective, largely because it influences our choices in subtle ways that we are often unaware of.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the two views: some believe advertising is very powerful in persuading people to spend, while others argue that we are so used to it that we ignore it. State your opinion: advertising still works, but more subtly.
- 2
Body paragraph 1: why some think we ignore advertising
Explain that people see huge numbers of adverts every day, skip video adverts, use ad blockers and scroll past sponsored posts, so most adverts seem to make no impression at all.
- 3
Body paragraph 2: why advertising is still successful
Argue that advertising works through repetition and brand familiarity, so people choose known brands in shops without remembering the advert; targeted online adverts and influencer marketing reach people when they are ready to buy; companies would not keep spending large sums if it did not work.
- 4
Conclusion
Restate that while people pay less conscious attention to individual adverts, advertising remains successful because its influence is often unconscious and increasingly personalised.
Ideas and arguments
- People are exposed to a huge number of adverts every day, on television, websites, social media, buses and billboards, so most are forgotten immediately.
- Viewers skip adverts on video platforms, pay for advert-free streaming and install ad blockers, which suggests they actively avoid advertising.
- Familiarity created by repeated advertising influences choices at the point of sale, even when the consumer cannot recall the advert.
- Targeted online advertising uses data about browsing history to show products people are already interested in.
- Influencer marketing and sponsored content look like ordinary posts, so people do not recognise them as advertising and are less resistant to them.
- Companies continue to spend enormous sums on advertising, which they would not do unless it produced results.
- Advertising creates desires by linking products with lifestyles, such as success, beauty or happiness.
- Highly creative or emotional campaigns still attract attention and are shared widely online.
Band 8+ model answer
279 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
Some people believe that advertising is remarkably effective at persuading consumers to spend money, while others argue that it has become so widespread that we simply ignore it. Although I accept that we now pay little conscious attention to most adverts, I believe advertising remains highly successful, largely because it shapes our choices in ways we rarely notice.
On the surface, there is strong evidence for the second view. Modern consumers are bombarded with adverts on television, websites, social media and public transport, and most of these messages are forgotten within seconds. Many people now skip commercials on video platforms, pay extra for advert-free streaming services or install ad blockers on their computers, which suggests that they actively avoid advertising rather than respond to it.
Yet ignoring an advert is not the same as being unaffected by it. Much advertising works through repetition: after seeing a brand name hundreds of times, shoppers tend to choose it in a supermarket simply because it feels familiar and trustworthy, even if they cannot remember a single advert. Moreover, advertising has become far more sophisticated. Targeted online adverts use people's browsing history to show them products they are already considering, and influencer marketing presents products as personal recommendations, so many viewers do not even recognise it as advertising. If these methods did not work, companies would hardly continue to spend enormous sums on them every year.
In conclusion, while it is true that people consciously tune out much of the advertising around them, I am convinced that it is still extremely successful. Its power today lies less in grabbing our attention than in quietly influencing our purchasing decisions, often without our realising it.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Response
- Both views are explained and supported with relevant examples, and the writer's opinion, that advertising still works but more subtly, is stated in the introduction, developed in the second body paragraph and confirmed in the conclusion.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Each body paragraph focuses on one view, the second builds on the first by showing why ignoring adverts does not mean they fail, and linking such as on the surface, yet and moreover is used naturally.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise collocations such as bombarded with adverts, brand awareness, targeted advertising and purchasing decisions show a wide, accurate range of vocabulary on marketing.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- The essay uses complex sentences with relative and concessive clauses, a conditional to support the main argument, and passive forms, all with consistent accuracy.
Useful vocabulary
- advertising campaign
- a planned series of adverts for a product or brand
- consumers
- people who buy goods and services
- persuade
- make someone decide to do something by giving reasons or appealing to feelings
- be bombarded with
- receive a very large amount of something, such as adverts
- tune out
- stop paying attention to something
- ad blocker
- software that stops adverts appearing on websites
- brand awareness
- how well people know and recognise a brand
- targeted advertising
- adverts shown to particular people based on data about them
- influencer marketing
- promoting products through popular social media users
- subconsciously
- without being aware of it
- purchasing decisions
- choices about what to buy
- ubiquitous
- found everywhere
- impulse purchase
- something bought suddenly without planning
Common mistakes
- Discussing only one view in detail and mentioning the other in a single sentence, which makes the discussion unbalanced.
- Forgetting to give your own opinion, or giving it only in the final sentence, when the question explicitly asks for it.
- Writing about whether advertising is harmful, should be regulated or targets children, which is not what the question asks.
- Using vague claims such as advertising is everywhere and very powerful without explaining how it persuades or why people ignore it.
- Presenting your opinion as a separate third body paragraph that simply repeats points from the first two.
- Repeating advertising and advertisement in every sentence instead of using adverts, marketing, commercials and promotions.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- This question about whether advertising persuades us to buy things or is so common that we ignore it is Writing Task 2 of Test 3 in Cambridge IELTS 15 Academic, published in 2020.
- Where should I give my opinion in a discuss both views essay?
- State it briefly in the introduction, make it clear in the body where you discuss the view you support, and restate it in the conclusion. Leaving it until the last sentence is risky.
- Can I agree with both views?
- Yes, as long as your position is clear. For example, you can argue that people consciously ignore most adverts, yet advertising still influences their choices.
- How many words should I write for this Task 2?
- Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is usually enough to discuss both views and give your opinion in 40 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.