Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-20

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 6.0)

In recent years, many private organizations have been funding some medical research projects. I believe it should be conducted by private companies as it can reduce the time required for the results and it provides a larger workforce.

One key benefit of conducting research projects by private organizations is that it can shorten the time required to complete research projects. When such organizations are involved in research, they ensure that they provide necessary equipment needed for it, thereby preventing delays that might occur due to insufficient funds or equipment. They also fund research that is beneficial to the public, especially health-related research. A prime example of this is research conducted on a disease in 2020, which was funded by a private company. On the contrary, governments may delay projects due to a lack of funds or not compensating those involved in the project. This demotivates those who are hired to handle the project. A notable example is the construction of laboratories in some urban areas may be abandoned due to a lack of funds and equipment.

Another primary reason for private organizations handling research projects is because they employ more experts to conduct the projects. Involving more experienced personnel in research leads to reliable results as they are determined to obtain findings. Not only that, having a larger workforce in research reduces stress. For instance, having more experts during research project can reduce the workload of individual researchers.

In conclusion, I think the majority of research projects should be carried out by private companies as they are more efficient in providing funds, and empowering more workforces.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of private funding. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention efficiency and workforce as key benefits, the arguments remain quite general. For instance, the example regarding 'a disease in 2020' is too vague to be persuasive; specific details or a clearer connection to the argument would strengthen the response. Additionally, the prompt asks you to consider whether research should be carried out by private companies, individuals, or government. You focus almost exclusively on private companies and only mention the government in a negative, comparative sense. A more balanced approach would involve discussing the roles of all three entities to fully address the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central topic. There is a logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'One key benefit', 'On the contrary', and 'Another primary reason', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing within paragraphs could be smoother. For example, the link between the lack of government funding and the abandonment of laboratory construction is a bit abrupt. Overall, the structure is coherent, and the paragraphing is appropriate for an academic task.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'private organizations', 'workforce', and 'personnel'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a tendency to repeat words like 'research', 'projects', and 'funds' frequently. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition. There are no significant spelling errors, but the overall lexical variety is restricted to fairly common, everyday language rather than more sophisticated academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are clear and grammatically sound, which ensures that communication is not impeded. There are occasional errors, such as 'conducting research projects by private organizations' (which should be 'conducting research projects through private organizations' or 'having research projects conducted by...') and 'empowering more workforces' (which is slightly unnatural phrasing). While you attempt complex sentences, they are sometimes slightly awkward. Increasing the variety of your sentence structures and refining your control over prepositions and article usage would help improve your score in this criterion.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.