Private Companies Funding Scientific Research

In today’s world, private companies rather than the government pay for and conduct most scientific research. Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Annotated response

5 correction notes

Showing 5 correction notes.

Nowadays, most scientific studies are financed and carried out by private enterprises instead of the governing bodies. In my opinion, the benefits of this are greater than its drawbacks.

On the one hand, that research is by private companies can be greatly beneficial. In fact, unlike governmental organizations, most companies’ primary objectives are profits, so their motivation to minimize the research activities is . Therefore, they tend to prevent their scientists and other workers more strictly from wasting any resources, including time and money; as a result, their outcomes can be quicker and more . In addition, when the government , the financial pressure on the national budget can be partly relieved. Instead, it can be allocated for investing in other important sectors such as education or transportation.

On the other hand, I believe that letting private businesses sponsor or undertake such studies will bring about more significant disadvantages. First, there are very few private companies that are willing to do unpaid work while shouldering a huge financial burden at the same time. Consequently, they may require the public to pay to access or share their research results, so that they can afford to cover their expenses as well as to ensure their personal incomes. Second, when allowing companies to do scientific research, the authorities can hardly make sure the entire research process is under supervision. It is possible that companies with the top priority being maximizing profits will sell their research to other organizations, such as terrorists or criminals, who take advantage of such research to harm society.

In conclusion, I claim that private investment in and conduct of scientific research may result in several advantages which are, however, outweighed by the undesirable consequences.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 6.5

The essay develops relevant advantages and disadvantages of private scientific research with explanations about efficiency, funding and potential risks. However, its central judgement reverses: the introduction favours the benefits, while the later argument and conclusion favour the drawbacks. This inconsistency weakens task response and progression, alongside some awkward phrasing.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

6.0

The essay develops both advantages and disadvantages with relevant reasoning, but its position is inconsistent. The introduction says the benefits are greater, whereas the second body paragraph and conclusion say the disadvantages outweigh them. This reversal prevents a clear judgement throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion

6.5

The paragraphs have clear topics and the two sides follow an understandable sequence. However, the reversal between the introduction and later judgement weakens overall progression, and some linking within the longer sentences is mechanical.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible for the topic, with terms like 'financial pressure on the national budget' and 'under supervision', though some collocations are imprecise or unnatural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A range of complex structures is used with generally good control, but several sentences are awkwardly constructed and occasionally reduce clarity.