Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-13
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 4.0)
in todays world competition plays an important role in many aspects of our lifes, including education, employment and personal development, while some people think that competing with others allows individuals to achieve more, others belive that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other, in my opinion competition has alot of advantages, cooperation is more important in the long term.
on one hand competition can motivate people to work harder and improve their abilities. when students com
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 3.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0
The opening shows awareness of both sides and gives a personal view: competition can bring advantages, while cooperation matters more in the long term. However, the response is far too brief to discuss both views adequately, and the only supporting point begins, “competition can motivate people to work harder and improve their abilities,” before the text cuts off at “when students com”. There is no developed explanation, relevant example, or discussion of cooperation. The response contains 68 words, which is 182 words below the required minimum; 13 words copied from the prompt were not counted. To improve, complete the discussion of each view, explain your position with reasons and examples, and write a full essay that meets the task’s length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5
There is a basic attempt to organise the response: the opening introduces the topic and opinion, and “on one hand” signals the start of a supporting point. This gives the reader a limited sense of direction. However, the essay ends during that point, so there is no completed paragraph, contrasting view, or conclusion, and the argument cannot progress logically. The opening also joins several ideas in one long sentence, making the relationships between them harder to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the introduction, each side of the discussion, and the conclusion; connect complete ideas with clear transitions such as “By contrast” and “Overall,” rather than relying on one extended sentence.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
The response uses some relevant topic vocabulary, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “education,” “employment,” “motivate,” and “improve their abilities.” These choices make the general subject understandable. However, the short response offers little range or precision, and some expressions are informal or imprecise, such as “alot of advantages” and “in many aspects of our lifes.” There are also spelling errors in “belive” and “lifes,” which weaken control of written vocabulary. Develop the essay with more precise terms for the effects of competition and cooperation, and check spelling and standard written forms carefully. For example, use “a great deal of” rather than “alot of,” and “areas of our lives” rather than “aspects of our lifes.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response attempts to express a contrast and a qualified opinion, and the opening includes a complex relationship between competing and cooperating views. However, the sentence beginning “in todays world” runs several clauses together without appropriate sentence boundaries, and the lower-case sentence openings and missing apostrophe in “todays” show weak punctuation control. The fragment “when students com” is incomplete, so the reader cannot see how the example or sentence was meant to develop. Most of the available writing relies on simple structures, with little evidence of controlled variety. Use full stops to separate complete ideas, capitalise sentence beginnings, and finish each clause; then practise adding accurate subordinate clauses to explain reasons and examples.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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