Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

There is an ongoing debate regarding to sharing information about educational fields. Some people think that it is better to share all the information in education, business and research in scientific projects. However, others argue that some information is very essential to be shared freely. Both views will be discussed further.

The primary argument the supporters would put forward is that sharing information become convenient for others. People may have access on all the information. They learn knowledge about their subjects. For example, students can complete their projects by taking the ideas and knowledge from foreign professor's research. In addition, people allow to launch the website which contain all the information of education and business. For instance, publishing the research articles on internet contribute a lot of information that other people may get help from these projects.

On the contrary, those in favour of the latter opinion have their own arguments. To begin with, they claim that some information can save privately because people may have not access on this information without registration. People have to buy a premium subscription if they want information for further studies. For example, people cannot have access to open the British websites on internet without their subscription because they save their information and do not want to share it freely.

To conclude and offer my position, there are convincing arguments both for and against sharing the information openly and freely. However, I certainly favour the former opinion because people find it convenient and easier for the academic world.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on information sharing in scientific research, business, and academics, and clearly states the writer's opinion in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the first body paragraph mentions that sharing information becomes convenient and gives a general example about students and websites, but the arguments lack depth and clear extension. Similarly, the counter-argument discusses premium subscriptions and British websites, which touches on the prompt but remains somewhat underdeveloped. The position is clear throughout, but the reasoning and examples lack the elaboration expected for higher bands. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty. For example, transitional phrases like 'To begin with' and 'On the contrary' are used, but the progression between sentences within paragraphs can feel disjointed. Referencing is also weak in places, such as in the sentence 'People may have access on all the information,' where pronoun and article usage creates a clunky flow. While the overall structure is logical enough to follow easily, the misuse of cohesive devices and occasional awkward transitions place this at a Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, touching on relevant domains such as 'research', 'education', 'business', and 'subscription'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text. For example, the writer uses 'regarding to' instead of 'regarding' or 'with regard to', 'access on' instead of 'access to', and 'save privately' instead of 'kept private'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary often result in unnatural phrasing or inaccuracies. Although the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points, the frequent errors in word choice and prepositional collocations restrict the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some ability to structure sentences using clauses ('Some people think that...', 'If they want information...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent and noticeable throughout the text. Examples include 'sharing information become convenient' (subject-verb agreement error), 'people allow to launch' (passive voice error), and 'people may have not access' (incorrect auxiliary usage). Punctuation and article errors also occur regularly. While these errors do not severely impede overall communication because the reader can still grasp the intended meaning, their frequency prevents the writing from achieving a higher band. This performance aligns with Band 5.5.

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

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