Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-14

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 modern times, there is a growing endorsement of the idea that medical research projects should be sponsored by private organizations. Nonetheless, I completely align with this opinion and, I will elaborate on my reasonings in the following paragraphs.

The significance of external funding for research projects is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows under privileged students to pursue their higher education.

Since majority of projects involves extensive experiments, it will be challenging for the students to manage the expenses of these activities. For example, in Japan, education authorities have allocated a budget for the academic research projects. This approach results in high enrollment rates in research-based degrees.

Another positive aspect is integration of advanced technology in research methods. When projects are sponsored by private institutions, they performed the projects efficiently in order to satisfy their clients. Updated methodologies are employed. As a result, data generated is based on accurate scientific data. This data can be challenged by anyone around the globe. These advantages notably boost the confidence of researchers. Moreover, it also helps to improve the rank of researchers of that country internationally. For instance, Germany ranked number one in the list of countries holding the most research publications in a year.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that medical research work should be financially supported by private organizations, personnels or public authority. The advantage of this funding is the support to low-income students who have passion in research work and private authorities are capable of handling this elaborating task more efficiently.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt but struggles with focus. While you state you align with the idea of private funding, your arguments shift to education funding in Japan, which is largely government-led, creating a contradiction. The prompt asks for your opinion on who should fund medical research, but your supporting points are somewhat tangential, focusing on student tuition rather than the core issue of medical research priorities. To improve, ensure your examples directly support your stated position and remain relevant to the specific topic of medical research rather than general education funding.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by the disconnect between the introduction and the body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Firstly' and 'Moreover', but some transitions feel mechanical. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the link between private funding and student tuition is not explicitly explained. Improving the flow between sentences and ensuring that each paragraph develops a single, clear idea will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'endorsement', 'methodologies', and 'significance'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'personnels' (which is not the correct plural form) and 'elaborating task' (which is not a standard collocation). The vocabulary is generally sufficient to communicate your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Since majority of projects involves' (should be 'Since the majority of projects involve') and 'they performed the projects' (tense inconsistency). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but there are minor errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tenses will help improve your accuracy.

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

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