Some people believe that a lot of scientific research done today is a waste of time and money.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 2 question on IELTSX. Some people believe that a lot of scientific research done today is a waste of time and money.

Scientific Research Today Waste Time Money - IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Write at least 250 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 6.5 ยท 327 words.

The question of whether scientific works are justifiable has become a topic of debate, with some people believing that they are waste of time and financial resources. I partly agree with this opinion as it proves reasonable to some extent, while investing in scientific research is also largely beneficial on a large scale.

One undeniable benefit of scientific studies can be their practical benefits on world population. When scientists carry on research on certain fields, they try to solve problems of this field, or create new approaches that can ease millions of people's lives. This can be exemplified by the study in which physical activities' impact on health were studied on mice and it proved that being phsically active reduces the risk of dementia, thereby applying its results to human mental development. Without such research projects, the general knowledge about creatures living in the world and their similar physical capabilities would remain as a mystery, negatively affecting the overall development of humans. From this perspective, spending on scientific projects is crucial and cannot be hindered.

However, there are some examples of studies that fail to make a sense and only waste substantial amounts of money on unnecessary goals. Since some scholars do not determine the geniune purpose of their work, results of their research turn out to be useless. For, example, in 2019, a group of researchers decided to learn the driving ability of rats and constructed tiny cars for them. While the outcome of that research were clearly meaningless for the development of world population, they spent 1 million dollars on this study, Although we know them as an intellegent creatures, they do not need driving skill, instead, this funding could be channeled into other crucial realms, such as neuroscience.

To conclude, although there are some meaningless scientific projects that waste both money and time, it can be detrimental to dismiss the benefits of other useful studies, as they are fundamental the development of world population.

Examiner feedback

This is a solid 6.5 performance. The essay is well-structured and the arguments are supported by interesting, specific examples. To reach Band 7.0 or higher, the candidate needs to improve grammatical accuracy (specifically subject-verb agreement) and eliminate basic spelling errors, while varying vocabulary to avoid repetition.

Task Response - 7

- The candidate addresses all parts of the prompt, acknowledging both the value of research and the potential for waste. - A clear position (partial agreement) is established in the introduction and maintained throughout the essay. - Main ideas are extended with specific examples, such as the dementia study and the rat-driving experiment. - Some arguments could be more nuanced; for example, the claim that researchers don't determine a 'genuine purpose' is a broad generalization.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Information is organized logically with a clear progression from the benefits of research to the criticisms. - Each paragraph has a clear central topic. - Cohesive devices (e.g., 'However', 'thereby', 'From this perspective') are used effectively, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. - Referencing is generally clear, though 'this field' in the first body paragraph is somewhat vague.

Lexical Resource - 6

- The range of vocabulary is adequate and allows for some precision (e.g., 'justifiable', 'hindered', 'substantial', 'channeled'). - There are several spelling errors ('phsically', 'intellegent') and awkward collocations ('make a sense', 'fundamental the development'). - The phrase 'world population' is repeated too frequently, showing a slight lack of flexibility in paraphrasing.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 6

- A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used. - There are noticeable errors in subject-verb agreement ('impact... were studied', 'outcome... were'). - Article usage is inconsistent (e.g., 'are waste' instead of 'are a waste', 'an intellegent creatures'). - Punctuation is generally correct, but some comma splices occur (the sentence starting with 'Although we know them...').

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