Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 competitions are beneficial in everyday life at academies, at work. While other think that they should try to work together or team up instead of challenging each other. This discuss both views but i agree more with competitions because it helps students to improve their strength and skills.

On the one hand, some individuals believe that competitions are plus at job, at institutes in daily life. The main reason is that activities such as cricket tournaments and many other sport games are very advantageous for student in schools. Most students are interested to participate in school competitions to show their ability and win reward. However, at work many employees are tired due to daily work or responsibilities, therefore these competitions can reduce their stress and feel more relaxed. For example, in schools many of candidates being bored from their regularly studies, these challenges or activities can improve the student mental health and build their interest in studies.

On other hand, others argued that we should try work together more rather than fighting against one another in competitions. This is because many employees at the organization should have to support with each other or be cooperative which made their work easier. While, in schools teacher are assist the candidates to be work in team that build the strongest relationship. Cooperation is a necessary skill that helps people to build their connection and basically teach them to how to work in group on a particular task.

In conclusion, although both views have their own merits, i believe more on that competitions or challenges at work or at academies are very advantageous for them because people become tired of their regular work or studies, so these competitions assist them to release their stress and improve their physical health.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference for competition in the introduction and conclusion. The examples of school sports and workplace activities are relevant, and you explain that they may build skills or relieve stress. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the benefits of cooperation are mostly asserted, with little explanation of how teamwork improves outcomes beyond making work easier and building relationships. The argument for competition also relies heavily on stress relief, which does not fully explain why competition is beneficial across work, school and daily life. To strengthen the response, develop each view with a specific example and explain its consequences, while making your position more precise and consistent throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the overall direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “However, at work” shifts from school competitions to workplace stress without clearly showing how the ideas connect, while “While” at the start of the cooperation sentence does not form a complete contrast. References such as “these competitions” and “these challenges” are understandable but sometimes broad. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and organise each paragraph around one main point followed by its explanation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competitions,” “cooperative,” “responsibilities,” “relationship,” and “physical health.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “cricket tournaments” and “team up.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, including “competitions are plus,” “win reward,” “bored from their regularly studies,” and “believe more on.” Repetition of “competitions,” “work,” and “students” also limits flexibility. These choices sometimes make the reader pause to interpret the intended meaning. Build a bank of natural collocations for discussing benefits and drawbacks, and check whether each phrase is idiomatic in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “while,” and “therefore.” This allows you to express reasons and contrasts, but complex structures are often not controlled accurately, and errors occur across the response. Examples include “While other think” (subject–verb agreement and an incomplete contrast), “This discuss both views” (verb form), and “teacher are assist” (verb form and agreement). In “many employees … should have to support,” the modal construction is also faulty. Capitalisation of “i” and punctuation around sentence openings need attention. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a subordinate clause before combining several ideas; then proofread for agreement, verb forms, and sentence boundaries.

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