Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-29

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)

In the current era, information is available everywhere from around the globe. This information can be about anything, any topic; like research, business, economics, trades and fashion etc. On one hand, some people are of the opinion that such kind of information should be avialabe freely for people to use, while others do not agree with this sentiment.

From my persective, information should not be restricted because it is the basic right for a human to gain knowldege.

The foremost argument that someople present is that information is a necessity of a human and a basic right of an indiidual, thus they should have unrestricted access to data. Additionally, people require information to make decision about their lives, these decision can be financial, economical or a basic choice of buying grocery from an organic store in the nearby area. For example, as people are becoming more health and sustainablilty conscious, they are optiong to more organic options. The information available online can help them make them more informed choices and decision.

On the other hand, some individual are not in favour of this school of thought. There main argument revolves around the value of information. Moreover, they believe information is a valuable asest and should not be availabe to the general public without restrictions. Additionally, their thought process differ from the mindset of a common folk as they consider data to be asset and should be handled with care. For example, some data brokers collect valauble and confidential data and sell it at a hefty price. Their main idea behind this business is the moulding of information and accurate data into a valuable asset that can be sold to highest bidders.

Thus to sum it up, information is valuabale and should be handled with care but it should not be restricted to the extent that poeple have no acess to basic information they require for their daily life functions. Thus, confidential information should be handled with care and provided with more security to prevent data breaches, while information present to help people become knowldgeable about basic information should be avaialbe for free.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on sharing information freely versus restricting valuable data, and provides a clear personal opinion that information should be shared unless it is confidential. The introduction introduces the topic and outlines the debate, and the body paragraphs present relevant arguments and examples regarding human rights, decision-making, and commercial data brokers. However, some ideas feel slightly repetitive, particularly the points regarding basic needs and daily life functions, which borders on over-generalisation without fully extending the business and academic contexts mentioned in the prompt. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout and the main requirements of the prompt are satisfied, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged logically with a clear overall progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the final conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two competing viewpoints and the writer's perspective. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'On one hand', 'Additionally', 'On the other hand', and 'Thus to sum it up'. However, some referencing is slightly mechanical and repetitive, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'Additionally' and 'For example'. Furthermore, transitional phrasing between sentences occasionally feels abrupt. Overall, the structural progression is clear and easy to follow, supporting a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the writer's meaning. There are attempts to use less common and topic-specific vocabulary, such as 'sustainability conscious', 'data brokers', and 'confidential data'. However, the response contains numerous spelling errors and typographical mistakes, such as 'avialabe', 'persective', 'knowldege', 'indiidual', 'asest', and 'acess'. Word choice is sometimes imprecise, as seen in phrases like 'moulding of information'. While these lexical errors do not impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the lexical score from reaching the higher bands, making Band 6 an appropriate evaluation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses. There is an attempt to use varied sentence patterns, such as introductory prepositional phrases ('In the current era', 'From my persective'). However, the text contains a notable number of grammatical and punctuation errors. There are issues with subject-verb agreement and punctuation errors, such as comma splices ('...make decision about their lives, these decision can be...'). Additionally, missing articles and awkward clause structures occasionally disrupt the flow of sentences. Although the errors are frequent, they rarely impede communication, placing the grammar performance firmly within Band 6.

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