Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-07

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Many believe that competiton at work, at colleages and in daily life is an effective thing, mainly because it motivate people to work hard and in my opinion, l agree with this view. However, there are also some individuals who disagree with this notion because it can create unneccessary jealous against each other and create health problems.

On the one hand, l agree that competition in companies, at schools and in daily live is beneficial thing because it motivate individuals to work hard. In other words, when individuals compete at work, it encourages them to work hard in their day to day life. To give a clear example, recently in Zimbabwe students were given a task to compete on a school project. Several students were asked to created various projects as a way to compete with other learners. Consequently, students came up with innovative ideas and this boost the schools passrate.

On the other hand, competing against each other can promote unnecessary jealous and reduce individuals daily productivity. This means that, some people may become more obsessed with competition and can loose focus of their work, whilst affecting their wellbeing. For instance, competition can motivate people turn against each other instead of cooperating, this can have negative consequences on their health. As a result competition can lead to mental health problems.

To conclude, others argue that individuals should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. However, l agree that competition in companies, at schools and in daily live is a good thing because it motivate individuals to work hard.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a clear opinion in the introduction and conclusion: you support competition because it motivates people to work hard. You also discuss a disadvantage, explaining that competition may cause jealousy and harm wellbeing, and the Zimbabwe school-project example is relevant to your argument. However, the task asks you to discuss both competition and cooperation. Cooperation is mentioned mainly as the alternative in the opposing view and conclusion, but its benefits are not explained or supported. Some points are also under-developed: for example, the link between competition and students’ improved pass rate is asserted rather than explained. Develop the cooperation perspective and extend each example to show how it supports your position more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs beginning “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This helps readers identify the two sides of your discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is limited: several sentences repeat that competition motivates people to work hard, while the opposing paragraph moves quickly from jealousy to reduced productivity and mental-health problems without clearly connecting each step. Some linking phrases, such as “This means that” and “As a result,” are used mechanically or do not make the relationship precise. Improve the flow by giving each paragraph one main point, explaining it, and then using a specific example; also make references such as “this” clearly identify the idea they refer to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “compete,” “cooperating,” “innovative ideas,” “productivity,” and “wellbeing,” so the reader can follow the main discussion. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the expression less natural. Examples include “unnecessary jealous” instead of a noun such as “jealousy,” “daily live” for “daily life,” and “passrate” for “pass rate.” “Effective thing” is also vague in this context. Aim for more precise academic phrasing and check spelling and word forms carefully. Using a wider range of accurate expressions for the benefits of cooperation and the possible costs of excessive competition would make the argument clearer and more flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause with “because” and a contrast introduced by “whilst.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence structure and verb forms occur repeatedly. For example, “it motivate people” should be “it motivates people,” and “students were asked to created” should be “students were asked to create.” The opening sentence also joins several ideas with commas, making its structure difficult to control. There are further issues with articles and sentence construction, as in “is beneficial thing” and “competition can motivate people turn against each other.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, infinitive patterns, and sentence boundaries, while varying structures only when you can control them.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.