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

4 correction notes

Showing 4 correction notes.

In recent times, many people have started to support private companies in conducting scientific research. I argue that the results of private companies are far more innovative than government-run operations, and thus it is the former who should conduct science experiments.

Firstly, I believe that government-run scientific innovation lacks any real reason to seek to improve their process, as they can always be bailed out by taxpayer money. Consequently, these programs might be less likely to discover scientific breakthroughs that can benefit the population. This can clearly be seen with many people’s frustrations with NASA’s recent ventures, for example, as their failed experiments led to the destruction of satellites and rockets costing billions of . Meanwhile, private companies such as SpaceX continue to innovate in order to prevent wasteful expenses success in the realm of space travel.

Secondly, it might be argued that because of private companies’ ability to be more efficient and effective, they can more easily apply new scientific products to the general market. The main goal of all companies is to make as much profit as possible, and therefore in theory, they always aim to make the best products that are not only scientifically innovative but high in utility as well. This is how the computer, government funding, was able to enter the average household through the work of private companies such as Apple.

Ultimately, I argue that in our current state of affairs, we are more certain to get more innovative and useful products created by private companies’ scientific research, and as such, the government should delegate these ventures to them.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response presents a clear, consistent position supported by relevant examples such as NASA and SpaceX, with generally fluent language. Its main limitation is the one-sided treatment, as the disadvantages of privately funded research are acknowledged only briefly and never seriously examined before the conclusion.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

6.0

The position is clear and main ideas are developed with relevant examples, but the response engages with the disadvantages only superficially, so the task is addressed incompletely.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas progress logically across well-organised paragraphs with a range of cohesive devices used naturally, though the second argument slightly overlaps with the first.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and precise, with natural collocations such as 'scientific breakthroughs' and 'wasteful expenses', and only minor imprecision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A variety of complex structures is used with generally good control, and occasional awkward constructions such as 'yet still being able' do not impede meaning.