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)

In recent times, many people encourage through by other person's success. Therefore, some individuals believe that competition at work, at school, and daily life is a most fandamental way, while other people think that we should try to cooperate more rather than competing against each other. Personally, I believe that having a competition in our lives may people to more inspire to even better, although cooperative among player get a better result.

On the one hand, there are several significant benefits for competition in our life. First and foremost, peole can try their best to achieve their aim. For example, having a competition in classroom encourage learners to work hard and get a good results. Secondly, I think is the most fundamental srategy to accomplishment their life embitions. Many industries can produce large amount of products to see their competiters. Consequently, is the most significant benefit for the countries' economy. For instance, in our daily routine people often feel stress and tired, but this can help to stay active and creative through the day.

On the contary side, critisise argue that having compition in our life, some people feel pressur and strain, as a result they cannot be perform properly. For instance, family also pessure on children to pursue high marks in academic subjects, as people can feel burden and not perfomence well. Meanwhile, companies often make a wrong decigen to see their arrivale. As they can suffer from financial craices.

Neverthaless, coooperative among individuals is a great way to people feel less stess druning their hard time. For example, in sports game like wise cricket, they play together and and work together in order to win the match.

In conclusion, I believe the balanced approach is the most fandamental strategy. Although competition inspired people to be creative, cooperate can make oure life more easy and enjoyable.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the discussion and give a personal view, especially in the opening and conclusion, where you favour a balance between competition and cooperation. The classroom example supports the idea that competition can motivate learners, and the cricket example illustrates teamwork. However, the discussion is only partially developed: the points about industries, national economies, and companies making poor decisions are difficult to follow and are not clearly explained. Your position also shifts between saying competition inspires people and saying cooperation makes life easier, without clarifying how the two should be balanced. Develop fewer ideas with clearer reasoning and relevant examples so each part of the task is addressed more fully. The response meets the stated length requirement; 13 words copied from the prompt were not counted.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on competition, a paragraph presenting concerns, a separate paragraph on cooperation, and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “On the contrary side,” and “In conclusion” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some connections are unclear. For example, the move from companies producing products to “the countries’ economy,” then to people feeling tired in daily life, brings together points without showing how they relate. “Meanwhile” also introduces an idea that does not clearly connect to the preceding sentence. Use topic sentences and make each paragraph develop one main point, with linking words that express the actual relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “achieve their aim,” “pressure,” and “creative.” These choices show that you can discuss motivation, stress, and teamwork. However, the range is limited and errors in spelling, word form, and collocation are frequent enough to make some ideas difficult to understand. Examples include “fandamental,” “compition,” “financial craices,” and “coooperative”; phrases such as “encourage through by other person’s success” and “cooperative among player” are also unclear or unnatural. Build accuracy with common topic collocations before reaching for more ambitious wording. Proofreading spelling and checking whether a phrase sounds natural will make your meaning more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use some attempts at complex structures, including “although” clauses and cause-and-effect constructions such as “as a result,” alongside simpler sentences. This gives the response some variety, but control is inconsistent, and errors often make sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “having a competition in classroom encourage learners” has problems with the subject, article, and verb agreement, while “they cannot be perform properly” uses an incorrect verb form. Several sentences also lack a clear grammatical subject, as in “Consequently, is the most significant benefit.” Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then extend them with subordinate clauses. Check subject–verb agreement, articles, and verb forms, and read each sentence to ensure it is complete.

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