Band 7 Example

Question: Do people watch useless advertising in this day and age?

Idea 1

Yes
Model Answer
Yes, I think we're used to seeing ads all the time if we're using screens. Often, we see the same advertisement many times online and have to wait for it to end. It can be annoying, but marketing is really big nowadays. Advertisers know a lot about us through our phones and use that info to show us more ads.
Yes, I think we've just come to accept that adverts are part of our daily experience if we use any kind of screen. Sometimes we are shown the same ad twenty or thirty times online and we just have to sit through it and wait until it's finished, unfortunately. It's very frustrating but marketing is a bigger business than it's ever been these days. They have such access to our lives through our phones and they can use that information to push their ads more and more.
Grammar Analysis
Emphasis structure: The emphasis structure is used in the sentence "It's very frustrating but marketing is a bigger business than it's ever been these days" to highlight the importance and scale of marketing in modern society, enhancing the expressiveness of the language. Frequency adverbs: In the sentence "Sometimes we are shown the same ad twenty or thirty times online," frequency adverbs (such as "twenty or thirty times") are used to provide a specific and accurate description of frequency, increasing the specificity of the statement. Passive voice: The passive voice is used multiple times throughout the answer, such as "we are shown the same ad." This usage makes the language more objective and neutral, while also demonstrating the ability to use the passive voice. Present perfect tense: The sentence "They have such access to our lives" uses the present perfect tense effectively to express the continuous state of advertisers having access to personal information, demonstrating the correct use of tense.
Vocabulary
  • come to accept
  • part of our daily experience
  • sit through
  • wait until it's finished
  • bigger business than it's ever been
  • have access to our lives

Idea 2

No
Model Answer
Nowadays, people don't really watch ads they're not interested in. Most of the time, we can skip them after a few seconds. Also, a lot of online ads are tailored to our interests, so they're more relevant to us. Plus, the advanced targeting means we often find useful or interesting products through these ads.
In this era, watching irrelevant ads has become less common. The ability to skip ads after a brief duration allows viewers to bypass content that doesn't pique their interest. Moreover, the sophistication of Internet advertising means many ads are tailored to individual preferences, making them more engaging and less likely to be perceived as useless. This personalization often results in discovering products or services that are actually beneficial.
Grammar Analysis
Infinitive as adverbial of purpose: "to skip ads after a brief duration" where "to skip" functions as an infinitive, used as an adverbial of purpose, expressing the audience's intention to skip ads, demonstrating the purpose and complexity of the sentence. Present participle as attributive: "tailored to individual preferences" where "tailored" functions as a present participle, used as an attributive to modify ads, adding descriptive and complexity to the sentence. Passive voice: "less likely to be perceived as useless" uses the passive voice, expressing the concept that ads are less likely to be considered as useless, reflecting the diversity of the sentence structure. Present participle phrase as adverbial of result: "resulting in discovering products or services" where "resulting in" acts as a present participle phrase, used as an adverbial of result, demonstrating the personalized ads lead to discovering beneficial products or services, displaying the causal relationship and complexity of the sentence.
Vocabulary
  • irrelevant ads
  • skip ads
  • brief duration
  • bypass
  • pique their interest
  • sophistication
  • tailored
  • preferences
  • engaging
  • perceived as useless
  • personalization
  • beneficial