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Task 2 Band 8

Cambridge IELTS 16 Academic Writing Test 2 Task 2 Band 8 Model Answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write at least 250 words.
In their advertising, businesses nowadays usually emphasise that their products are new in some way.

Why is this? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?
In today's highly competitive marketplace, it has become a ubiquitous strategy for businesses to highlight the novelty of their products in advertising campaigns. This pervasive emphasis on innovation is driven by a combination of consumer psychology and market dynamics. While this trend has certain benefits, I contend that it is predominantly a negative development, as it fosters unsustainable consumption and can erode consumer trust.

The primary reason for this marketing approach lies in the fundamental human attraction to novelty. Businesses are acutely aware that consumers are often drawn to what is perceived as new, improved, or cutting-edge, as novelty is psychologically associated with progress, status, and enhanced functionality. By framing their products as innovative, companies can create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, compelling consumers to upgrade or purchase items they might not otherwise need. Furthermore, in saturated markets where functional differences between products are minimal, emphasising novelty becomes a crucial differentiator. For instance, smartphone manufacturers routinely introduce incremental changes—such as slightly improved cameras or faster processors—and market them as revolutionary, thereby sustaining consumer interest and driving annual sales cycles.

In my view, however, this development carries significant drawbacks that outweigh its advantages. The most detrimental consequence is the acceleration of consumerism and the resulting environmental impact. The relentless promotion of "new and improved" products cultivates a culture of disposability, where perfectly functional items are discarded in favour of newer versions. This contributes enormously to electronic waste, resource depletion, and carbon emissions associated with manufacturing and transportation. For example, the fashion industry's embrace of "micro-seasons" and constant new collections has exacerbated the problem of textile waste, with millions of tonnes of clothing ending up in landfills annually.

Moreover, this emphasis on novelty often borders on deceptive marketing. Many products touted as "new" feature only superficial alterations rather than genuine innovation. This "planned obsolescence" not only deceives consumers but also undermines trust in advertising more broadly. When customers repeatedly discover that the "revolutionary" features are, in reality, marginal improvements, they become cynical and distrustful, which ultimately harms both businesses and consumers.

Nevertheless, it would be reductive to suggest that all novelty-driven advertising is harmful. In sectors such as medicine and renewable energy, highlighting genuine innovation can accelerate the adoption of life-saving or environmentally beneficial technologies. However, these instances are exceptions rather than the rule in mainstream consumer advertising.

In conclusion, while the emphasis on novelty in advertising is a logical response to market pressures and consumer psychology, its negative repercussions—particularly environmental degradation and consumer deception—are profound. Therefore, I believe this is an overwhelmingly negative trend that necessitates greater regulatory oversight and a collective shift towards valuing durability and genuine utility over fleeting novelty.
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Student Comments From Evaluate Writings

  • Aron Kasmi 3 weeks ago

    Band Score 6There is a large number of businesses that label their products as new nowadays. This is a method which has been practiced for years in marketing and its purpose is to attract as many individuals as possible. A lot of businesses have succeeded using this marketing strategy and I contend that it benefits both business and clients. Advertising products as the latest addition, ensures that customers are buying what they demand. A lot of individuals searching for a product waste a lot of effort and time to find the one that has the qualities they desire. However, the clients refuse to purchase if they are not sure if this product is the latest. This mainly comes from a negative experience they have had in the past and their perspective that the newest model always has the best qualities. By labeling products as the latest businesses guide buyers to the product they demand and help them avoid unnecessary time consumption . One great example of this, is when somebody is looking for a new phone, especially iPhone. These clients are always searching for a product that is either brand new or not used before, consequently the customers usually waste their time wandering from one shop to another without purchasing anything and this comes from the fact that businesses do not label their products based on their age. One shop in Tirana started to implement the labeling process of phones and it enhanced its profit from this method. On the other hand, emphasizing products as new can influence people make unwanted purchases. A lot of clients are attracted by the labeling, thus they forget what they were really looking for. For instance, a lot of individuals search for something and they end up with a product that they did not really want. However, it is important to mention that it is our fault for making a hasty purchase and we should always look carefully for what we are looking for. Emphasizing product as the latest is a great development which ensures that customers are buying something with the right qualities they desire and it helps businesses complete more sales and expand their profit.

  • Nguyễn An 1 month ago

    Band Score 6In our contemporary world, businesses and commercial enterprises are one of the most crucial factors in a successful economic. However, there is an upward trend that businesses usually emphasize that their products are newer more outstanding than the others in some way. This essay will discuss about this issue and whether this trend is positive or negative. There are a few main reasons about this problem. Initially, businesses and other enterprises use advertisements as an avenue to keep the consumers' attention. Due to the development of social medias and online platforms these days, consumers often stay at home and go shopping online, which is more comfortable and convenient. By the way, emphasizing advertisements introduce people about the product, as well as provide more information. Secondly, advertising is also a marketing strategy to compete with other businesses. If an enterprise invests more in the advertisement to beautify its product, they will find it more easily to expose the consumers and sell the products for them. However, this trend also has both positive and negative affect to use and improve. On the positive aspects, emphasizing in the advertisements can help provide a wider range of choices for consumers and strengthening the quality of the products' quality, so that customers will not be confused. But on the negative side, it can sometimes be abused to enlarge the reliability of the products. Revenue is important in businesses, but customers' satisfaction needs to be attached to maintain the economic in the long run. To sum up, emphasizing the quality of the products is a good way for the businesses to expose and sell to the customers, but it can be a bad way if they abuse it to magnify the quality as well. However, businesses and enterprises should control it to keep their careers in the long term.

  • Mohan Khati 1 month ago

    Band Score 6.5In their advertising, businesses today often highlight that their products are new in some way. This essay will discuss why this is the case and whether this trend is positive or negative. There are several reasons why companies focus on newness. Firstly, in a highly competitive market, novelty helps a product stand out and attract customers' attention. Secondly, digital marketing and social media make it easy to spread information about new launches quickly. This is especially important because consumers today are constantly exposed to advertisements and may ignore familiar products. On the positive side, this emphasis on new products gives consumers a wide range of choices and can lead to better quality. Businesses are motivated to innovate, which can improve people's lives. However, there are also negative aspects. Sometimes, new products are not as reliable as older ones, and genuine but older products may be overlooked. This can reduce customer satisfaction and harm businesses that focus on long-term quality. In conclusion, while highlighting newness in advertising has benefits for both consumers and businesses, it also has drawbacks. Companies should balance novelty with originality and quality to ensure long-term success.

  • Mohan Khati 1 month ago

    Band Score 5.5There is far-cry between promoting the products with new ideas and the one with the existing. That doesn't mean, already existing things are not good enough. But in the present digital world, something different should be there to attract the customer. The positive aspects of advertising businesses would be, the users could have many alternative options to choose the products based on the idea of it. There won't be any regrets afterwards. In other hand, business person also could get good result while producing unique idea and get motivate to generate loads of things like that. Since, digital marketing is most common, people won't spend much time on searching things. As products shown in ads, that would suddenly trigger buyers to buy. In addition, people also have luxury to order to their doorsteps, which saves their time and no need to worry about certain things in life cause already they have been going to lots of stuff. Even-though, there are several positive sides, there are some negative too. Since, todays people prioritize new ideas, existing one but with the genuine products won't get in the lime lights. Also, some new things might be not be that good as already that are available which might hamper the user experience. User satisfaction is most in this kinds of business cause business are not supposed to run for very short period of time. In conclusion, there are positive side of producing products with new ideas. However, there are some bad or negatives aspects too. So, businesses should prioritize the products with relevant essence with originality.

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