Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-10

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)

Several people believe that competition at work, school, and in daily life is a positive approach, while others think that cooperation is more effective than competition. The essay does not totally disagree with the statement, and I believe that healthy competition, along with cooperation, helps one succeed.

Supporters who believe competition is a positive approach in our daily lives, workplaces, and schools have reasons to support. Firstly, competition encourages and motivates a person to be innovative with their work. When a person feels competitive, they want to make their work better and different from others, which pushes them to think outside the box. For example, when the whole class gets the same assignment, everyone's outcome differs from others. Because all of the students want to stand out with their work and get a good grade. Secondly, competition pushes individuals to work harder and find their potential. Feeling competitive pushes them to work with dedication.

On the other hand, some believe cooperation is more significant than competition. The reason behind this statement is that helping each other leads to efficient and effective outcomes. For instance, in our daily lives, when we are not able to reach our goals, our friends help us with plans and strategies. That makes our work easier, and we can succed easi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You introduce both viewpoints and state a position: “healthy competition, along with cooperation, helps one succeed.” The discussion of competition includes relevant reasons and an example about students wanting to stand out, while the cooperation paragraph gives a practical example involving friends. However, the response addresses the task only partially: the cooperation argument is brief, and your own opinion is not explained beyond the opening sentence. The essay also ends mid-sentence (“we can succed easi”), leaving the discussion and conclusion incomplete. The response is 35 words below the required minimum, which contributes to the limited development. Extend both sides with specific explanation and examples, then conclude by clarifying when cooperation or competition is most beneficial.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting competition, and a contrasting paragraph about cooperation. Transitions such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “On the other hand” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression is incomplete because the essay stops during the cooperation example and has no concluding paragraph to bring the arguments together. Some links between sentences are also awkward: “Because all of the students want to stand out…” is a fragment rather than a complete explanation, and “Feeling competitive pushes them…” repeats the preceding point without adding much progression. Develop each paragraph around a clear main idea, connect examples explicitly to that idea, and finish with a conclusion that restates your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a generally adequate range for the topic, including phrases such as “think outside the box,” “work with dedication,” and “efficient and effective outcomes.” These help communicate the main ideas, and the vocabulary is relevant to competition and cooperation. However, several expressions are repetitive or imprecise: “positive approach” and “pushes” recur, while “everyone's outcome differs from others” is not a natural way to describe students’ work. There are also spelling errors in “succed” and the unfinished “easi,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated wording—for example, describe competition as “spurring innovation” or “encouraging greater effort.” Proofread carefully, especially the final lines, so spelling and word choice do not distract from your argument.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “while others think that cooperation is more effective than competition” and the conditional clause “When a person feels competitive…”. Most of the meaning remains understandable. However, some sentence construction and punctuation errors are noticeable. “Because all of the students want to stand out with their work and get a good grade” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence; attach it to the preceding sentence or rewrite it as a complete sentence. The final sentence is incomplete, and the extra space in “work easier” suggests limited proofreading. Practise combining related ideas into complete sentences and check that every sentence has a subject and a finite verb, particularly after linking words such as “because.”

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