Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-08

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)

It is often argued that competition can have more benefits on the society. However some personnes believe the total opposite, that cooperating will help people to dvelop a lot of skills, and I totaly agree with it.

Some people believe that having competition in their daily lives such as at work, or at school can be advantageous and may have positive aspects. One of the main reasons is that they may experience less stress and pressure. Because they will be able to do everything they want without having orders from their friends or staffs. As a result they, could be free in the desicions they will take, and will be less anxious or nervous. For intance, some teenagers at schools do not have good connextion with others children so working alone can help them to have highest grades.

On the other hand some individuals think that cooperating can be a good idea, and in my opinion this trend can have a lot of benefits on both mental and physical health of people. For exmple, if children cooperate they may have more productivity to study, for this reason teenagers will have an enthusiastic classe which can let them begin more interested in their study. In addition, if people cooperate more they may improve and enhance their social intractions, and that can teach them to be less overwhelemed, or feel under pressure.

In conclusion, there are two types of individuals on the one hand who think that begin in competition will bring them more benefits and positive changes. However, in my opinion this trend will have numerous drawbacks on teenagers, and may affect other people. On the other there are who believe that cooperating should become increasingly common.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both competition and cooperation and state a preference for cooperation, particularly in the introduction. However, the response only partially fulfils the task because the explanation of competition does not clearly show how competition itself brings benefits: the claim that it reduces stress is then explained through working without others’ orders, which sounds more like independence than competition. The cooperation paragraph gives relevant outcomes, such as improved productivity and social interaction, but these points are not developed with clear reasoning or a specific example. The conclusion also introduces the idea that competition has drawbacks without explaining them, and its final comparison is incomplete. Develop each side with a clear, relevant reason and support your opinion consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, the link between competition and reduced stress is unclear, and “For this reason” does not make the relationship between cooperation, productivity, and an enthusiastic class precise. The conclusion repeats the two positions but does not bring them together clearly, and “On the other” is left without a complete corresponding phrase. Make each paragraph follow a clear reason–explanation–example sequence, and use referencing and linking expressions only where the relationship between ideas is explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “competition,” “cooperating,” “productivity,” “social interactions,” and “under pressure.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors make parts of the response harder to understand, such as “personnes,” “dvelop,” “connextion,” and “overwhelemed.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise: “benefits on the society,” “highest grades,” and “enhance their social interactions” do not express the intended meaning naturally. Aim to use accurate collocations and check spelling carefully. Building a small set of topic-specific phrases—such as “healthy competition,” “teamwork,” and “develop interpersonal skills”—would help you express your ideas more precisely without relying on repeated general words such as “good” and “benefits.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “Because,” “if,” and “which.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation occur often enough to affect clarity. For example, “Because they will be able to do everything…” is a fragment, while “As a result they, could be free” has misplaced punctuation. In “if people cooperate more they may improve,” the conditional clause needs clearer punctuation, and “there are two types of individuals on the one hand who think…” is structurally incomplete. Practise forming complete sentences and checking clause boundaries, commas, and agreement. More accurate control of these patterns would make your arguments easier to follow.

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