Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-23
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)
These days an increasing number of medical research projects are carried out by private firms. In my opinion medical research should be carried out by private corporations rather than the ministry.
The main reason why private businesses should conduct research on medical projects is that they generally have rich financial resources to invest in such experiments . Moreover, these companies can use financial resources to purchase advances and better equipment, as well as to recruit experienced employers. For instance, pharmaceutical companies can invest heavily on research and development of new vaccines and medicines.
Another important advantage of private sector research is that competing against other companies encourages them to innovate new products and speed up the development of the medicines. As a result, companies can invest more in research and development to take advantage of other companies.For example, nowadays pharmaceutical firms compete to develop enhanced products in the market.
In conclusion, medical research projects should be given to private companies to elevate the medicines and vaccines. However, private firms have more funds to conduct the research and have better facilities.
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 addresses the prompt by stating a clear position that private corporations should conduct medical research. However, the length requirement of 250 words is not met, as the student's response contains only 180 words. Consequently, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, preventing the essay from reaching a higher band. While the writer provides some reasons related to financial resources and market competition, these points lack the necessary extension and detailed examples required for Band 7. Therefore, this falls under Band 5 because the task is addressed only partially due to the severe under-length issue and limited development of ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal relationships between ideas, such as 'The main reason why', 'Moreover', 'Another important advantage', and 'As a result'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, and the progression is constrained by the brevity of the text. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the argument, but the lack of depth limits the complexity of the organizational flow. These features align well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts at less common lexical items such as 'pharmaceutical companies', 'rich financial resources', and 'research and development'. There are some minor awkward collocations or word choices, such as 'recruit experienced employers' instead of employees, and 'innovate new products' rather than develop or create new products. Spelling is generally accurate, and the lexical range is sufficient to convey the writer's basic message, though it lacks the flexibility and precision needed for higher bands. This performance is characteristic of Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'The main reason why private businesses should conduct research... is that they generally have...'. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'invest heavily on research' instead of 'in', but these errors rarely impede overall communication. The punctuation is generally adequate. Because there is a reasonable attempt at complex structures alongside a mix of accurate and flawed sentences, this performance sits comfortably at Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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