Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-30

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)

Today, numerous medical report projects are carried by private companies financially. I partially agree with this view because private companies will focus on late stages of diseases, but will keep the patient's information confidential. Meanwhile, government-funded research focuses on initial stages of disease but their is open access to public information.

On the one hand, private companies primarily fosus on the late trials and widespread effects of diseases. This is because they are privately investing and researching on an individual basis can take a long time. As a consequence, the surveys will not have profound results as it is not researched publically and is time-taking. For-example, private pharmaceutical companies have their own licensed drugs that are retailed late in the market. Although they cannot focus on the initial stages of illness on public, I believe that companies will protect the patient's data and keep them confidential and private.

On the other hand, government-funded research are based on initial tirals. This is because they have widespread access to public information, hence they can investigate on early disease spread. As a result, authorities can prevent the early spread of diseases and can provide drugs before the illness becomes epidemic or deadly to humanity. For-instance, National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) in the UK are performing surverys and reports on early onset of diseases conducted in the government-funded labortory to prevent its spread. I believe this can prevent the spread before it gets severe but there is no data security for the patients.

In conclusion, I partially agree with the stance because private companies provide late treatment but keep the patient's data secure. On the other hand, the government prevents the spread of diseases before it gets severe but there is no privacy of data.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether medical research should be funded by private companies or the government, taking a partial stance. The candidate develops clear ideas regarding the focus of private companies on late-stage trials and data confidentiality, contrasted with government-funded research focusing on early-stage disease prevention and public access. However, some arguments lack full extension and rely on slight generalisations, such as assuming private research inherently lacks public accessibility or that government research lacks data security. Despite these minor limitations, all parts of the task are addressed with a clear overall position throughout. This performance aligns well with the Band 7 descriptor, which requires a clear position throughout and well-developed ideas, though with some minor areas of over-generalisation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, two distinct body paragraphs representing contrasting views, and a concise conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand', ensuring a clear progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. However, referencing is occasionally slightly repetitive or mechanical (e.g., repeating similar structures at the beginning of body paragraphs). Overall, the text demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout, justifying a solid Band 7 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic discussion, including terms like 'confidential', 'pharmaceutical companies', 'epidemic', and 'onset of diseases'. There is an attempt to use less common items, though some inaccuracies in word choice and spelling occur (e.g., 'fosus' instead of 'focus', 'publically' instead of 'publicly', 'tirals' instead of 'trials', 'labortory' instead of 'laboratory'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The lexical range is adequate and demonstrates sufficient flexibility for the task, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating subordinating clauses such as 'This is because they are privately investing...' and 'Although they cannot focus...'. However, there are several noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'government-funded research are based') and minor prepositional errors. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors occasionally disrupt the flow, they do not severely impede communication. This balance of complex structures with frequent minor errors corresponds well to a Band 6 score.

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