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)

Nowdays, competition has become a controversal issue. While some believe that competition between individuals allow them to grow and learn more, while other argued that we should be broad-minded and try to assist other whenever they need. I personally think that cooperation is a good factors beacuse it makes people more courteous rather than being cruel to some extent. Those who support this view argued that compete between students at school or colleagues at workplace enabled them to performed well in their specific field. For instance, If students want to get a higher position in exams, they will work hard and focus more , Whereas colleagues pretended to be as good as possible in front of boss just to get promotion. Competetion has lead people to achieve that certain thing which he had been for so long. On the other hand, critics believe that we should be broadmind enough to help other whenever they need. However, students ought to help other pupil where he found difficulty. It migh be possible that he would return his favour in a good manner. It creates a good well-being and harmony between them. For instance, sometimes students lack to generate innovative ideas but other can solve this issue by communication. And this conversations create a good relationship between them. But it has some notable drawbacks to consider such as, person become more involve to help others rather than focusing on their own motive. To sum up, competition among them is helpful to achieve certain reward or position. While cooperation among individuals create harmony and makes person courteous. I believe that person should more focus on cooperation rather than willingness to successful oneself.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear preference for cooperation, especially in the introduction and conclusion. The points about competition encouraging students and colleagues to work towards results, and cooperation creating harmony, are relevant to the question. However, the two views are not developed equally: the competition paragraph relies mainly on exam performance and promotion, while the cooperation paragraph gives more explanation and an example of students sharing ideas. The drawback of cooperation is mentioned but not clearly connected to your overall position. To strengthen the response, explain the consequences of each view in more depth and make your reasoning for preferring cooperation more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “To sum up” help readers follow the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven. For example, the competition paragraph moves from students’ exam results to colleagues seeking promotion and then to a broad claim about achievement without fully linking these points. Some references, including “he” and “this conversations,” are unclear, and connectors such as “However” do not always express the relationship intended. Use clearer topic sentences, connect examples directly to the main claim, and check pronoun references to make the argument flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “promotion,” “harmony,” and “innovative ideas.” These choices allow you to discuss both workplace and school contexts. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, as in “Nowdays,” “controversal,” “Competetion,” and “broadmind.” Some combinations are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “good factors,” “get a higher position in exams,” and “willingness to successful oneself.” These issues sometimes make the intended meaning less clear. Build accuracy by learning common collocations for education and work, and proofread spelling and word forms. More precise phrasing would help you express your ideas without relying on broad or awkward expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a contrast structure beginning “While some believe…” and a conditional example with “If students want…”. This shows some range, but errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “competition between individuals allow” needs subject–verb agreement, while “enabled them to performed” uses the wrong verb form after “to.” The opening sentence also repeats “while,” making its structure difficult to control, and several long sentences need clearer punctuation. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main argument, but they limit accuracy. Practise checking one sentence at a time for a clear subject and verb, and use complex structures only when you can control their grammar.

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