Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-03

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 5.5)

In today’s accelerating world, everything is showing rapid growth and so as the medical field, in the similar way various medical research projects are funded by private companies. According to my point of view, these projects must be funded by neither private firms not individuals but only by the government.

These medical research papers must be funded by the government officials because of the various advantages. Firstly if government provided them with the funds they have the right to monitor it which reduces the risk of several scams which is more likely to be found with private companies. For example, in the past 10 years, many cases related to medical scams have been found for private firms where as the one monitored by the authorities are less.

Secondly, there is much more strictness and seriousness for the public funded sector as the government is accountable to any issue or discrepancies found. For example, several surveys shows many private corporations to be shut down following any concerns or questions raised as anything related to medical field is serious, which is not a very big issue for rich tycoons whereas when the government is questioned over serious matters the whole trouble is faced by the government officials. To avoid serious troubles and accountability they make sure that every thing is being kept honest and transparent ensuring extra care and seriousness.

To conclude, it wholly depends on the mind and thinking of the individual who is in incharge but in my opinion government should be the one carrying out these research papers as that would be more safer and beneficial for the public.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that government funding is preferable. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide reasons such as accountability and monitoring, the arguments are repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the discussion on 'scams' and 'accountability' is mentioned in both body paragraphs without introducing new dimensions or nuanced perspectives. To reach a higher band, you should expand on the potential drawbacks of government funding or provide more specific, concrete examples rather than general statements about 'rich tycoons' or 'medical scams'. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the main points presented in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. You use basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'To conclude' to signal transitions. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical. Some sentences are loosely connected, and the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the one monitored by the authorities are less', where the pronoun reference is imprecise. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on somewhat generic phrasing, such as 'everything is showing rapid growth' and 'rich tycoons'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'medical research papers' (when you mean 'projects' or 'initiatives') and 'the one monitored... are less' (subject-verb agreement error). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to public policy, ethics, and scientific research, and focus on using words in their correct contextual collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. For example, 'neither private firms not individuals' should be 'neither... nor'. There are also issues with article usage ('the medical field', 'the government') and subject-verb agreement ('surveys shows', 'the one... are'). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with prepositions, articles, and pluralization, to ensure your complex sentences are error-free.

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

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