Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06

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, it is widely seen that medical researches are carried by private companies. I believe it is more important to examine the person who is appointed to do the research, rather than to question his organization, whether its private or public.

Many research projects are carried by public companies because they are more reliable and authentic. If any research goes wrong, it will affect the company's reputation. As a result, the company's shares could be dropped and future projects could also be taken from them. Therefore, they are more reliable and responsible.

Moreover, government sectors and organizations are less reliable. One reason of this could be their job's are permanent, so they might not do their work as efficiently as public sector's employee might do. Secondly, the government organizations have weak management and they might take longer to complete the project. Although, public companies are more reliable in terms of work, government companies are cheaper and financially reliable.

However, I believe the research should be carried by someone who is highly qualified in his work. Whether it is a public company or private, who is doing the research is more important. If we assigned the medical project to the wrong person, the results would be severe and someone could die from one wrong research. Therefore, it is highly important to check the person's qualification before handing over the project.

To conclude, private companies are more trust worthy than public companies but public companies are cheaper. However, before assigning the project to any company, it is better to examine their team and their qualifications.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear central view: the qualifications and competence of the researcher matter more than whether the organisation is private or public. You also compare perceived reliability and cost, so the response is relevant to the topic. However, the task asks you to decide whether research should be carried out by private companies, individuals, or government, and your position shifts: you initially prioritise the individual, then conclude that private companies are more trustworthy while public companies are cheaper. The comparison between private and government research is also asserted rather than supported with specific examples or developed reasoning. To strengthen the response, state a consistent preference and explain how the researcher’s qualifications and the organisation’s oversight should influence that choice.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion paragraphs, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “However,” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of the argument. Nevertheless, progression is not always clear because the essay moves from favouring the individual researcher to contrasting private and government organisations, then ends by favouring private companies. Some connections are also confusing: “Although, public companies are cheaper” follows a paragraph that contrasts government and private organisations, while “public companies” is used inconsistently for what appears to mean private companies. Build each paragraph around one clear comparison, use consistent labels, and make the conclusion follow directly from the position established in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “medical research,” “reputation,” “management,” “qualification,” and “financially reliable.” These terms allow you to discuss responsibility, cost, and expertise. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, which limits precision: “medical researches” is not the natural form, “carried by” is repeated where “conducted” would be more suitable, and “shares could be dropped” does not express the intended idea naturally. “Trust worthy” is also incorrectly written as one word. Aim for more precise academic phrasing and avoid repeating “reliable” without clarifying what kind of reliability you mean, such as scientific quality, accountability, or financial stability.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If any research goes wrong, it will affect the company’s reputation” and “If we assigned the medical project to the wrong person, the results would be severe.” Meaning is generally understandable, but errors recur in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For example, “whether its private or public” needs a possessive form and a clearer clause structure; “their job’s are permanent” has incorrect agreement and apostrophe use; and “Although, public companies are cheaper” misuses punctuation after the subordinating conjunction. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries, and revise complex sentences to ensure their clauses are connected accurately.

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