Back to Writing Hub

User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 2 Band 7.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

276 words AcademicTask 2
Task 2

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Link medical research to prevention, diagnosis and treatment, explaining how each can affect people’s health.
  • Use clean-energy research as an example of science improving daily life while addressing pollution and sustainability.
  • Acknowledge that basic research may have delayed applications, then connect its support to responsible long-term benefits.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce a clear degree of agreement and state the main reasons.
  2. Develop one paragraph on direct improvements to health and living conditions.
  3. Develop a second paragraph on science’s role in long-term social challenges and accessible benefits.
  4. Concede the value of basic research, explain how it fits your position, and conclude with a concise summary.
Useful vocabulary & examples
quality of life
A person’s or community’s general well-being and living conditions.

Medical research can improve quality of life by helping people manage illness.

clean energy
Energy produced with less pollution or environmental harm than conventional sources.

Research into clean energy can support more sustainable transport and homes.

evidence-based decisions
Choices informed by reliable findings rather than guesswork alone.

Scientific research can help communities make evidence-based decisions about food and health.

basic research
Investigation intended to expand knowledge, without necessarily having an immediate practical use.

Basic research may lead to applications that were not obvious when the work began.

Task Prompt

The most important aim of science should be to improve people’s lives. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 7.0

Science is all about invention, innovation and experimentation. Some people believe that the primary goal of science is to improve their lives. This essay will argue that, only improving people’s lives is not the most important purpose of science. Science plays an important role in improving people’s life standards. Every invention from a pen to a medical scanner can make daily activities easier, safer or more productive. However, these practical benefits are not the only reason to pursue scientific research.

A central purpose of science is to expand human knowledge and explain how the world works. Researchers may investigate distant planets, the behaviour of particles or the origins of diseases without knowing what immediate benefit their discoveries will bring. Such work satisfies people’s curiosity and builds a foundation for future advances. For example, research that initially appears theoretical may later help engineers develop new materials or doctors create treatments. If science were judged only by its immediate effect on people’s lives, valuable research could be neglected before its applications became clear.

Moreover, scientific knowledge does not always improve people’s lives automatically. Some discoveries can be used in harmful ways, and new technologies may create ethical or environmental concerns. This shows that the purpose of science is not simply to produce inventions, but also to understand evidence and give society knowledge that can be applied responsibly. Governments and communities must consider how research is used and who benefits from it.

In conclusion, improving people’s lives is a major outcome of science, but I do not consider it the most important aim. The pursuit of knowledge and understanding is equally fundamental, and it often makes long-term improvements possible.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Replace the opening’s broad claim with a direct paraphrase of the question and state your position in one precise thesis sentence.
2
Develop each main point with a specific example, such as basic research later informing a medical or engineering application; do not imply an unsupported statistic.
3
Check collocations and sentence boundaries during editing: revise “life standards” and remove the misplaced comma after “that.”

Related examples for this topic

Compare different bands on the same IELTS prompt.

Browse all