Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-03
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)
As far as this topic is concerned, i agree that nowadays many researches are conducted by private companies which is usually a good thing but we should not ignore the role of government and individuals in this particular sector.
Private companies invest their funds in research projects in order to get financial benefits. Which results in lesser the burden on government financially and allows government to focus on other issues. Private companies are always in competition with their rival companies in research field to obtain the desired research results more efficiently. Its helps in a better outcome which eventually beneficial for overall society.
However, some people argue that government and individuals researchers should take up this initiative in order to keep the fairness in the researches outcomes. Private companies sometimes dictate the overall research project. On the other hand, individuals are more competent to perform better in this field
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, reaching only 149 words. This significant under-length prevents the development of ideas, resulting in a superficial treatment of the prompt. While you attempt to address the roles of private companies, government, and individuals, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack specific examples or depth. To improve, you must expand your points by providing concrete scenarios or logical consequences for each stakeholder. Because the response is substantially short, it cannot be awarded a score higher than 5.0 for Task Achievement, as the task is only partially addressed.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into three short paragraphs, which provides a basic structure. However, the progression of ideas is limited by the brevity of the text. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'On the other hand', but the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but the lack of development makes the overall logical progression feel incomplete. To improve, ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that you use a wider variety of linking words to connect your arguments more fluidly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on common terms like 'good thing', 'financial benefits', and 'better outcome'. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or sophisticated collocations. While the meaning is clear, the range is limited, which restricts your ability to express complex ideas with precision. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more academic vocabulary related to research, funding, and societal impact, and focus on using more precise synonyms for general words.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'many researches' (research is uncountable), 'lesser the burden' (incorrect comparative structure), and 'Its helps' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with sentence fragments like 'Which results in...'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall quality of the writing. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and avoiding sentence fragments will help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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