How to read the question

• This is a discussion essay: you must explain both views fairly and also give your own opinion, ideally stated in the introduction and repeated in the conclusion.
• The question names three fields, scientific research, business and the academic world. You do not need equal detail on each, but your examples should come from at least two of them so the scope is covered.
• The phrase as much information as possible is not the same as all information, so a balanced position, sharing by default with clear exceptions, is easy to justify.
• The second view gives two separate reasons for restriction: some information is too important (for example, for safety or national security) and some is too valuable (for example, commercially). A strong answer addresses both.
• Freely matters: the debate is about open, unrestricted access, so you can discuss middle grounds such as patents, delayed publication or licensing.
• Avoid drifting into a general essay about the internet, privacy of personal data or social media; the question is about knowledge in research, business and academia.

Suggested position

In my view, information in these fields should be shared openly as a general rule, but restrictions are justified where disclosure would endanger public safety or remove the incentive to invest in new discoveries.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the two views on whether knowledge in research, business and academia should be shared freely, then state your position: openness should be the default, with limited exceptions for safety and legitimate commercial value.

2. 2

   Body paragraph 1: the case for sharing

   Explain that open sharing speeds up progress because researchers build on each other's work and avoid duplication. Use the rapid publication of the Covid-19 genome as an example, and add that publicly funded research should be available to the public that paid for it.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 2: the case for restriction

   Explain the two reasons in the second view. Some information is dangerous, such as details of how to engineer a virus or design weapons. Other information is commercially valuable: a pharmaceutical company that spends years developing a drug needs patent protection to recover its costs, or it will stop investing.

4. 4

   Conclusion

   Restate your balanced opinion: maximum openness as the default, with clear and limited exceptions for security and for temporary commercial protection such as patents.

Ideas and arguments

• For sharing: science advances faster when results are published openly, because other researchers can test, replicate and build on them.
• For sharing: the global release of the Covid-19 genetic sequence in early 2020 allowed laboratories worldwide to begin developing vaccines within days.
• For sharing: research funded by taxpayers should be freely available to the public rather than locked behind expensive journal subscriptions.
• For sharing: openness makes fraud and errors easier to detect because data can be checked independently.
• For restriction: some knowledge, such as methods for making biological or nuclear weapons, could cause serious harm in the wrong hands.
• For restriction: companies invest heavily in research and development, and patents or trade secrets let them recover those costs; without protection, innovation might slow down.
• For restriction: universities and researchers may need to delay publication until findings are verified or a patent is filed.
• Middle ground: patents themselves are a compromise, since the invention is published but its use is protected for a limited period.

Band 8+ model answer

276 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Response

Both views are developed with specific examples from science and business, and a clear balanced opinion, openness as the default with limited exceptions, is stated at the start and maintained to the end.

Coherence and Cohesion

Each body paragraph has a clear central idea, the second view is split logically into safety and commercial value, and linking devices such as on the other hand, for this reason and admittedly connect ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource

Precise collocations such as build on earlier findings, recoup their investment, intellectual property and fall into the wrong hands show a wide and accurate range of topic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The answer uses conditionals, passive forms, relative clauses and concessive structures accurately, giving complex sentences that remain easy to follow.

Useful vocabulary

open access

free, unrestricted availability of research to anyone

knowledge sharing

making information available to others so they can use it

build on

use previous work as a basis for further progress

duplication of effort

wasting resources by repeating work someone else has already done

intellectual property

ideas and inventions that legally belong to a person or company

patent

a legal right that stops others copying an invention for a fixed period

trade secret

confidential business information that gives a company an advantage

competitive advantage

something that makes a business more successful than its rivals

recoup an investment

get back the money that was spent

national security

the protection of a country from threats such as attack or terrorism

fall into the wrong hands

be obtained by people who might misuse it

publicly funded

paid for with taxpayers' money

the default position

what normally happens unless there is a good reason not to

Common mistakes

• Giving only your own opinion and ignoring one of the views, which limits Task Response for a discuss both views question.
• Writing about personal privacy on social media, which is a different topic from information in research, business and academia.
• Discussing only science and ignoring business and academia completely, so the scope of the question is not addressed.
• Treating as much information as possible as if it meant all information without exception, and attacking an extreme position nobody holds.
• Stating an opinion in the introduction and then contradicting it in the conclusion.
• Using vague examples such as some companies keep secrets instead of specific ones like pharmaceutical patents or weapons research.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This essay question about sharing information in scientific research, business and the academic world is Writing Task 2 of Test 1 in Cambridge IELTS 12 Academic, published in 2017.

What type of essay is this?

It is a discussion essay. You must discuss both views and give your own opinion, which can agree with one side or take a balanced position.

Do I need to write about science, business and academia?

You do not need a paragraph on each, but your examples should cover more than one field so that you address the whole question.

How many words should I write?

Write at least 250 words; around 270 to 310 words allows you to develop both views and your opinion in 40 minutes.