Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-22

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 6.5)

As seen these days, many medical research projects are funded by private companies. Medical research is a field which directly affects people. And because of this, I believe that the government must carry out medical research projects.

Medical research projects often involve solving a major health crisis that may have affected a large community. So whatever solution they find affects people. Giving such a huge responsibility to a private company or an individual can be risky. The main aim of companies or individuals is to sell their product. They wouldn't care if the product has some side effects or if the product can actually cure the health issue or not. It is not necessary for these companies and individuals to choose an ethical way to conduct research. Companies may charge people high amounts to use their product, which poor people can't afford. They do so to cover the cost there had put in for the research of their products.

If the government carries out medical research projects, it ensures that these projects are being conducted ethically, which in turn benefits society. Research carried out by the government results in safe products. These products are made available free of cost. Take the example of the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was sold by both government agencies and private organisations. The private organisation charged hefty amounts for the vaccine, whereas the government made the vaccine free.

In conclusion, there is a high chance of corruption if medical research projects are funded by private companies. They can influence their needs into the research and try to benefit from it. The government must provide adequate funds to the medical research projects. This makes them accountable for the outcome. So, due to this, the research will be conducted in a more secure and ethical way. This is needed as the results of these projects will be very significant for the common people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position in favor of government-funded medical research. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the development is somewhat limited; the argument relies on a binary view that private companies are inherently unethical and government-funded research is always safe and free. To reach a higher band, the response would benefit from a more nuanced exploration of the topic, perhaps acknowledging the role of private-public partnerships or the limitations of government budgets. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of analysis remains at a general level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In conclusion', 'If the government', and 'Take the example of'. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical or repetitive, and the use of referencing could be more sophisticated. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the argument, contributing to the overall coherence of the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their opinions clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'health crisis', 'ethical', 'accountable', and 'hefty amounts'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'influence their needs into the research' and 'cost there had put in'. The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the cost there had put in' (should be 'they had put in') and 'influence their needs into the research'. Punctuation is generally correct, but there is a tendency toward shorter, simpler sentence structures. To improve, the student should focus on reducing minor errors and incorporating a wider variety of complex grammatical structures to demonstrate greater control.

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

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