Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27

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 6.5)

Opinions differ regarding how information should be disclosed. While some people believe that it is good to share more facts as much as possible in scientific research, business and the academic world for more accurate results, I believe that some information is too important or too valuable to be shared freely because it can put subjects financial accounts in danger.

A particularly noteworthy benefit of oversharing information in scientific research is its potential to produce more precise results. This can be largely attributed to the fact that most researchers use the information they get to make a general overview of a particular field. This means that, if researchers are given more facts, they are likely to make a more precise conclusion rather than relying on a general overview. This can be exemplified by medical practitioners carrying out a research on the effects of COVID-19 disease. If they are given more information, they are likely to get definite results, which can be used for medical purposes.

Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to overlook the fact that disclosing too much information can be risk, since the shared information can put individuals' life in danger. This is particularly concerning because hackers may use information from online surveys to hack people's bank accounts, thereby stealing money from the respective accounts. By having access to people's personal data, hackers are better positioned to retrieve and use it for their personal gain. In practical terms some surveys require an individual to fill in personal details such as phone number, full names, and other details, which can be used to swap the individuals' sim cards. As a consequence, participants' life are put under financial risks.

In conclusion, although some people believe that it is good to share as much information as possible in scientific research, business and the academic world for more accurate results, I think some data is too important or too valuable to be shared freely because it can put respondents' financial accounts in danger.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—the benefits of sharing information in research, business, and academia, and the potential risks of doing so. The student presents a clear position throughout the essay. The ideas are extended and supported, such as the example of medical practitioners researching COVID-19, and the discussion around online surveys and sim-swapping. However, the student's argument on the 'cons' side slightly narrows the scope of the prompt by focusing almost exclusively on personal financial accounts and hackers, rather than broader concepts of business confidentiality or academic intellectual property. Nonetheless, the task is well-addressed overall, earning a solid Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay demonstrates clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, starting with a well-formulated introduction, followed by body paragraphs addressing the benefits and the risks respectively, and ending with a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'A particularly noteworthy benefit', 'Nevertheless', and 'As a consequence'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, referencing and transitional phrases occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the mirrored phrasing between the introduction and conclusion regarding financial accounts. This places the performance comfortably at Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'noteworthy benefit', 'precise conclusion', and 'sim-swapping'. There is an appropriate use of topic-specific vocabulary related to research and data. However, there are some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'put subjects financial accounts in danger' (where 'subjects' is imprecise) and 'participants' life are put under financial risks' (where 'life' should be plural and the collocation is slightly unnatural). Despite these occasional slips, communication is never impeded, reflecting the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and conditional-like structures (e.g., 'This means that, if researchers are given more facts, they are likely to make a more precise conclusion'). There are some noticeable grammatical errors, such as missing possessive apostrophes ('subjects financial accounts'), a singular/plural agreement error ('participants' life are put'), and an omission of a noun or preposition in 'can be risk'. However, punctuation is generally sound, and the errors do not impede communication. This performance aligns well with Band 6.0.

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