Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-01

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)

Nowadays, there is a discussion about sharing information in science, business and education. Some people think we should share all information. Other people think some information is too important to share. In my opinion, we should share information but not all of it. On the one hand, sharing information is good for many reasons. First, in science, if scientists share their research, they can help each other. For example, during the COVID-19, many countries shared information about vaccines. Because of this, the vaccines were made very fast. Second, in education, when information is free, students can learn more. They can read books and articles on the internet without paying money. This is very helpful for poor students. On the other hand, some people think we should not share all information. The main reason is business. Companies spend a lot of money to make new products. If they share their ideas, other companies can copy them. For example, if a phone company makes a new phone, and shares all details, other companies can make the same phone. This is not fair. Also, some information can be dangerous if bad people get it. In conclusion, I think sharing information is good for science and education. But for business, we need to keep some information secret. So, a balance is the best way.

To conclude this, I think that free sharing is good for students and scientists. However,a businesses must keep some information private to protect their work. Therefore, not all information should be shared with everyone.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the benefits of sharing information and the reasons for keeping it private. You clearly state your position in the introduction and maintain it throughout the essay. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of COVID-19 vaccine development and the protection of intellectual property in business. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat basic. To reach a higher band, you should aim to extend your arguments with more depth or nuance, rather than relying on simple, short sentences. The conclusion is slightly repetitive, as you have two separate concluding paragraphs, which is unnecessary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each side of the argument, and a conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'First', 'Second', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow is somewhat mechanical, and the transition between ideas could be smoother. Additionally, the inclusion of a second, very short concluding paragraph ('To conclude this...') is redundant and disrupts the overall coherence of the piece. Using a wider variety of linking words and avoiding repetitive structures would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite simple and repetitive. You rely on common words like 'good', 'bad', 'make', and 'things'. While the meaning is always clear, there is little attempt to use less common or more precise vocabulary related to the topic (e.g., 'intellectual property', 'transparency', 'proprietary', 'collaborative'). To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and topic-specific terminology. The spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary is limited, which prevents a higher score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. While there are few major errors that impede communication, the grammatical range is limited. Most sentences follow a similar 'Subject-Verb-Object' pattern. There are minor punctuation and spacing errors, such as the missing space after the comma in 'However,a businesses'. To achieve a higher band, you should demonstrate more control over complex sentence forms, such as using relative clauses or conditional structures more effectively, and ensure that your punctuation is consistently accurate.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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