Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-05

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)

Currently, several research works are funded by various private companies because with the advancements in the field of research private institutions have understood that they can enhance the efficiency of their products and their sales by providing research grants to the academic projects. I consider the research should be carried out by private companies as it will save the resources of government and the government can invest these resources for other benefits of nation.

The private industries are the leading group of a nation and they are the one who mainly need their methodologies to be accurate, efficient and perfect, so that they can make more profit from their sales. To achieve these goals the private companies invest their capital to research grants and offer researcher to work without the stress of their expenditures and focus on generating the best methodologies. For example, the world's most leading companies like BMW and Ferrari fund 15-20 scholars annually under Erasmus Mundas program to get better designs and efficiencies of their car engines. As, it is the requirement of these companies to get their procedures updated so they should be allowed to fund scholars.

On the contrary, government can focus on investing in other fields like healthcare, protection, food, and infrastructure to facilitate the lives of citizens. It will not only boosts the research process under the grant of private institutions but will also be proved beneficial for every other field of the nation, Thus, by offering a chance of funding to the private sector, the government can work for the betterment of the nation.

To conclude, I would like to put forward that the research have to be funded by private companies and government should pay attention to other fields.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that private funding is preferable. However, the development is somewhat limited. While you mention the benefits of private funding (efficiency, profit, resource allocation), the argument lacks depth regarding the potential drawbacks of private-led research, such as bias or the neglect of non-profitable but socially necessary medical research. The example of BMW and Ferrari is slightly off-topic as it relates to engineering rather than the medical research specified in the prompt. To reach a higher band, ensure your examples are directly relevant to the specific field mentioned in the question and provide a more balanced exploration of the different stakeholders involved.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central idea. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the contrary' and 'To conclude' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some linking words are used incorrectly, such as 'Thus' following a sentence that does not logically lead to a summary. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the transition from general industry needs to the specific car manufacturer example feels abrupt. Improving the variety of cohesive devices and ensuring they are used with greater precision would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'expenditures', 'methodologies', and 'infrastructure'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation that prevent a higher score. For example, 'research works' is not standard; 'research projects' or simply 'research' is preferred. 'Offer researcher to work' is grammatically incorrect and lacks precision. There is also some repetition of basic vocabulary like 'betterment' and 'fields'. To improve, focus on using more precise academic collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing by using synonyms or more sophisticated sentence structures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the research have to be funded'), article usage (e.g., 'for other benefits of nation'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'they are the one who mainly need'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some run-on sentences. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, and try to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures with greater accuracy.

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

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