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 recent years, a growing number of medical research projects have been financed by private companies. In my opinion, although private firms make valuable contribution, government should take the primary responsibility for conducting medical research, which will discuss in the upcoming paragraphs.

Governments are the most suitable organizations because they prioritize public health rather than profit. They only focus on diseases affecting the whole population, not only profitable ones, also ensure medicines remain affordable and accessible for people. In other words, they provide long-term funding for rare diseases and preventive healthcare. Government often fund long-term research on cancer, Alzheimer's diseases, and rare genetic disorders, which may require decades of study before successful treatments are developed. For instance, during pandemics, governments invest in vaccines and public health programs that benefit everyone. Consequently, authorities main motivate to reduce the mortality rate

Private companies contribute innovation and efficiency but should not dominate research. Because they have advanced technology and skilled scientists, which they develop new drugs and medical equipment more quickly. However, they may prioritize projects with high financial returns and neglect less profitable diseases. For example, pharmaceutical firm rapidly develop new medicines but often charge high prices to recover research cost, which they do not focus on people life expectancy rate.

In conclusion, while private companies play an important role in advancing medical innovation, governments should take primary responsibility for funding and overseeing medical research bacause they are better positioned to protect public health and ensure equal access to healthcare.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position that government funding is preferable. However, the response falls just short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which impacts the overall development of ideas. While the arguments regarding public health versus profit are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped. For instance, the point about 'mortality rate' is left as a sentence fragment ('authorities main motivate to reduce the mortality rate'), and the conclusion could have been more robust. To reach a higher band, ensure that each paragraph fully explores the implications of the arguments provided and meets the minimum word count to allow for sufficient depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the discussion of government and private sector roles. Cohesive devices such as 'In other words', 'Consequently', and 'However' are used to link ideas. However, there are some minor issues with flow and referencing, such as the awkward phrasing 'which will discuss in the upcoming paragraphs' in the introduction. The transition between ideas is generally clear, but the mechanical nature of some connectors prevents a higher score. Improving the variety and sophistication of cohesive links would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at topic-specific language like 'preventive healthcare', 'mortality rate', and 'pharmaceutical firm'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'authorities main motivate' instead of 'authorities' main motivation' and 'people life expectancy rate' instead of 'people's life expectancy'. The range is sufficient to convey the message, but it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band. Expanding the use of collocations and ensuring accurate word forms will help improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'government should take the primary responsibility... which will discuss' (missing subject), 'Government often fund' (subject-verb agreement), and 'which they do not focus on people life expectancy' (awkward relative clause). Punctuation is mostly correct, but the frequency of these minor grammatical slips prevents the essay from reaching the 7.0 band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of relative clauses would be beneficial.

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