IELTS Writing Task 2 Topic:
Scientific research should be carried out and controlled by government rather than private companies. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Band 8+ SAMPLE ESSAY
Scientific research is the base of technological development which has a significant impact on human lives. Some people are of the opinion that scientific research should be carried out by government agencies alone without the involvement of private organizations. Sate your opinion here.
To begin with, scientific research needs years of commitment and surplus amounts of money. In many cases, it will take decades to observe the result. The process might be too long for the private agencies to go through. Also, research into nuclear technology, national defense, or military intelligence is the national interest or involves high levels of secrecy and should be carried out only by the government . An additional advantage to government -sponsored research is that the results are controlled by a single group, whereas with privately funded research, results are controlled by a single group. Consequently, government funded research can result in mass collaborative projects that are beyond the scope of isolated private researchers.
There are, however, several reasons for private companies to participate in scientific research. Research is done more efficiently by private companies since they are profit driven; their products are also more closely associated with market needs. Research into simple articles such as cosmetics or cough medicine is not what the government is interested in, so it’s necessary for the private sector to take part in these areas as they are also important in our daily lives.
From my point of view, both the governments and private companies should be actively involved in scientific research. We should encourage the cooperation between different research institutes including state-owned research centers.