Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-13

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)

It is often argued that private companies fund most of the medical research projects. While some people believe that research should be carried by private companies or individuals, others argue that research should be funded by government. I believe that government funding is better because private companies often fund the research for their personal benefits.

To begin with, one of the main reason is that private companies who fund for medical reasearch projects always expect some personal benefits from that. This is because they can make more profit and develop the company. Whereas, government funds are always with the pure intention for reasearch and not for their personal profits. As a result, research can be done systematically without any obstracles. Therefore, government funding is will be best.

Another important point to consider is that quality of reasearch varies according to funds. Government always supports reasearch and provides the permissions for the medical research. When the funding is from the government the license and other permissions will be easily accepted and reasearch will be done at it's best.

In conclusion, although many private companies provide funding for reasearch, I believe that it's best to get the funds from government because they don't fund because of their personal gains.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you favour government funding because private companies may pursue personal profit. You also give two relevant reasons, including the possibility of commercial motives and the role of government in providing support and permissions. However, the response addresses the task only partially: it does not meaningfully compare government funding with funding by individuals, and the reasons are asserted rather than explained with specific examples. The point that government permissions make research better, for instance, needs clarification or evidence. The response is 199 words, so it is 51 words below the 250-word minimum; eight words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count. Develop each reason and include a relevant example to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Another important point,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within the body paragraphs is limited: ideas are repeated, particularly the claim that private companies seek personal benefits, without being extended through explanation or examples. Some links are also awkward or unclear, such as “Whereas, government funds…” and the connection between government permissions and research quality. To improve, make each paragraph develop one distinct reason, then use clear cause-and-effect links to show how that reason supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “medical research,” “funding,” “profit,” and “permissions,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision. For example, “fund for medical research projects” is not a natural collocation, and “research” is repeated frequently. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “reasearch” and “obstracles.” Aim to use a wider set of accurate terms and check spelling carefully. More precise expressions for commercial motives and public support would help you explain the argument clearly without relying on repeated general wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “While some people believe…” and a reason introduced by “This is because…”. Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction remain. For example, “one of the main reason” needs a plural noun, while “government funding is will be best” combines incompatible verb forms. The sentence beginning “When the funding is from the government” also has an unclear construction around “the license and other permissions will be easily accepted.” Use a wider range of sentence patterns, but check each sentence for a complete, correctly formed verb phrase and clear relationships between clauses.

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