Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-30

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays, many medical research projects are funded by private companies. In your opinion, do you think that research should be carried by private companies, individuals or government?

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

Student answer (Band 8.0)

In this contemporary society, most of the analysis related to medicine is being sponsored by private institutions. Whether medical research should be conducted by government, private companies or individuals has become a modern dilemma in recent times. I strongly believe that government should be the leading body in medicine and medical research and in this essay, I will provide reasons and examples supporting my viewpoints.

Although most of the medical research is being done by private companies in recent times, this research is not merely done for the welfare of the society or for the benefit of the populace, rather their sole purpose is to make money and improve their reputation and goodwill. For instance, a lot of private companies often make simple ingredients more expensive using brand names and make products out of reach for normal people like Minoxidil is cheap but the brand names Rogaine is expensive. Moreover, privatized institutions have considerable assets and state of the art technology, which allows them to undertake research in a much more professional way, compared to the other organizations. A good example would be the pandemic, where private companies like Pfizer made covid-19 vaccines in record times and distributed it all over the world. Hence, private companies hold significant power in medical research field.

Over the centuries, there have been many luminaries and exceptional individuals that have made considerable contributions in medical related research, namely Alexander Fleming whose discoveries lead to the invention of Penicillin, a miracle drug, that has lead to the cure and safeguarding of millions of lives over the period. However, individual research has limits and especially in contemporary society where significant assets and manpower is required to undertake major research projects, I personally do not find it feasible for individuals to undertake research, as research takes a toll on the individuals health both mentally and physically, moreover the monetary benefits might be lacking as medicine related analysis is mostly a philanthropic effort.

In my opinion, government should be leading the medical research and analysis because government has taken taxes from the populace and those taxes should be put to good use, in the medical research for the good citizens of the society. Medical research and medicine that come about as a result of governmental efforts would be subsidized and much more widely available at reduced prices making them affordable for the penurious people. Moreover, government can hire national and international level researchers and work on cross-country projects which can help provide high-tech and state of the art medicines as a result. A good example would be during the Covid-19 where governments from all over the world came together and worked with private companies, this contribution and collaboration lead to the discovery of covid vaccines which saved millions of lives all over the globe.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that medical analysis and projects should be taken care of by the government as it would be the most feasible option but collaboration, contribution and co-operations between individuals, private companies and government would be the ideal situation for the betterment of the society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, clearly stating a position that government should lead medical research while acknowledging the roles of private companies and individuals. The ideas are well-developed, with specific examples like the Pfizer vaccine and Alexander Fleming provided to support the arguments. The conclusion effectively synthesizes the points by suggesting a collaborative approach. The response is well-structured and maintains a clear focus throughout, meeting the requirements of the task comprehensively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the roles of private companies, individuals, and the government is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to link ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. While some transitions are slightly formulaic, the overall flow is natural and easy to follow, demonstrating a high level of coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a good range of vocabulary, including terms like 'contemporary society', 'philanthropic', 'penurious', and 'luminaries'. The use of vocabulary is generally precise and appropriate for an academic context. There are occasional minor inaccuracies in collocation or word choice, such as 'medicine related analysis', but these do not impede communication. The student attempts to use less common lexical items, which adds depth to the arguments presented.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

The essay uses a variety of complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses. While there are occasional grammatical errors, such as 'discoveries lead to' (should be 'led') and 'individuals health' (missing apostrophe), the majority of sentences are error-free. The control of punctuation is generally good, and the errors present are non-systematic and do not cause confusion for the reader. The range of structures is sufficient to support the clear expression of complex ideas.

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