Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-08

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)

Today, more and more of research is driven by privately owned companies. In my view, they are more qualified to start and maintain these projects in compare to a single person or government body. This is because, they have resources, connection and are purely driven by profit.

Private organizations have an abundance of capital and connection to use that capital in an effective way. To exemplify, as these companies can give out more money, in terms of salary, compare to government, many talents are more likely to work for them and as such can increase the probability of innovating new drugs. Moreover, their connection to corrupt government officials will undoubtedly accelerate their information on future subsidies and undisclosed publications.

On the same side of the arguement, these private limited companies are driven by profit. To elaborate, they have fix schedule and multiple deadlines to meet which forces them to take decisive action as missing a deadline can cause the competition to take the lead and apply for patent. As such whenever they successfully apply for patent they can get exclusive marketing rights, for generally 20 years, they are not restrained by lowering profits to take care for people as government is. In addition, they can re-invest money this to increase their financial gain in the long run as we have seen in the case of Pfizer which made enourmous amount of money when the discovered the vaccine of COVID-19.

To conclude, it is better to give the opportunity of research to privately owned equities rather than the publicly owned or individuals because of their financial power which can outshine the individuals and low morals which can outshine the governments.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of private companies. However, the development of ideas is somewhat problematic. While the mention of resources and profit-driven efficiency is relevant, the argument regarding 'corrupt government officials' is poorly developed and arguably undermines the essay's logic. Furthermore, the conclusion introduces a strange argument about 'low morals' being a positive trait of private companies, which is not well-supported or logically sound. To reach a higher band, you should focus on more balanced, professional arguments, such as the speed of innovation or the ability to take financial risks, rather than suggesting corruption is a benefit.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. You use cohesive devices such as 'To exemplify,' 'Moreover,' and 'To conclude' to link your points. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the comparison between 'private equities' and 'publicly owned' is a bit abrupt. The flow is generally easy to follow, but the logical connection between the paragraphs could be strengthened to ensure a more cohesive argument throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'abundance of capital,' 'exclusive marketing rights,' and 'subsidies.' However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'in compare to' (should be 'compared to'), 'arguement' (spelling), and 'enourmous' (spelling). The phrase 'privately owned equities' is also used slightly inaccurately in this context. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, you need to refine your collocations and ensure more precise usage to reach the 7.0+ band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'as these companies can give out more money... many talents are more likely to work for them.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('the government'), incorrect prepositions ('in compare to'), and punctuation issues. Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'they have fix schedule,' which should be 'a fixed schedule.' While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of articles.

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

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