Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Write about the following topic: Some people believe that it is good to share as much information as possible in scientific research, business and the academic world. Others believe that some information is too important or too valuable to be shared freely. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It is true that some people have believe in sharing information in scientific research, business and the academic world. While, some people tend towards the viewpoint that some information is too important and valuable to be shared freely. I would have to support both sides.

On the one hand, there are clear arguments that it is good to share information in these sectors. One of the main reasons can be that in the science and academic world there are open-source researches which accelerate innovation and medical breakthroughs. For example, the global sharing of COVID-19 allows the scientists to examine the disease in order to make the vaccine. Another reason in business can be that transparency can build consumer trust and build world wide improvements.

On the other hand, I agree with view that some information is too important or too valuable to be shared freely. Firstly, i believe that in business companies invest in these resaerches for the protection of their intellectual property or trade secrets. For example, The Coca-Cola's secret formula. Secondly, I believe that in science and academic sector some discoveries can give severe risks if they are on targeted list. For example, the nuclear technology must be kept secret and must not be fall into the wrong hands.

In conclusion, it seems to me that complete openess can sometimes compromise the security and increases the risk especially in scientific and academic perspective where public welfare is at stake. However, business should be allowed to protect sensitive commercial assets.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a position, especially in the conclusion, where you argue that openness can create security risks while businesses should protect commercial assets. Relevant examples include COVID-19 research, Coca-Cola’s formula and nuclear technology. However, several points are asserted rather than explained: the business benefit of transparency and the risks of sharing scientific discoveries need clearer reasoning or specific support. Your position, “I would have to support both sides,” is also vague about how you balance the views. The response contains 230 words, so it is 20 words below the required minimum; the 21 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop the ideas further and state your overall position more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. Within paragraphs, however, connections are sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Another reason” and “Firstly/Secondly,” and some links between claims and examples are not fully explained. For instance, the COVID-19 example would connect more clearly if you specified what information was shared and how that helped vaccine development. The conclusion also introduces a distinction about business assets without fully linking it to your earlier position. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and make each example explicitly support its preceding point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “open-source,” “innovation,” “medical breakthroughs,” “transparency,” “intellectual property,” and “trade secrets.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, but the range and control are uneven, and several word-choice, collocation, or spelling errors are noticeable. For example, “open-source researches” is not a natural phrase in this context, “global sharing of COVID-19” is imprecise, and “targeted list” does not clearly express the intended risk. There are also spelling errors such as “resaerches” and “openess.” Aim for precise collocations and proofread carefully; for example, refer to “sharing COVID-19 data” and “research findings” rather than using unclear or unnatural combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including a contrast clause beginning “While” and a conditional idea in “if they are on targeted list.” Most of the message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect accuracy. Examples include “some people have believe,” the incomplete construction “While, some people tend towards…,” and “must not be fall into the wrong hands.” Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “in the science and academic world” and the comma after “While.” Practise forming complete contrast sentences and checking verb forms, such as “some people believe” and “must not fall into the wrong hands.” More accurate control of these structures would make your argument clearer.

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