Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05
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 this era, competition is increasing with time but some individuals believe that it is a good to have competition and others believe that we should try to cooperate more rather than having competition with each other. I believe that we should try to cooperate more rather than having competition with each other.
In this paragraph, I will discuss about competition as a good thing. Increase in population leads to an increase in competition and with time and we want to grow with technology and develop physically that would only come with having proper competition, as it leads to the development to that individual and the society too. Competition leads to the use of our hidden talent as to be advance in the competition we have to do something unique that is to show our talent.
On the other side, sometime we are giving our full potential to have success in life but due to higher competition we are unable to have it and that increase our stress and anxiety. It also reduces teamwork within the people due to the factor like anxiety, conflicts and relationships so it is believe by some people that cooperating with other, rather than having a competition with them is better as it can also increase the level of success.
According to my opinion, cooperating with each other is better than competition as it has many benefits like reduction of stress and anxiety, increase in relationship with friends and with the major benefit of increase in the success level.
In conclusion, major amount of people believe to have cooperation rather than competition as it is better in many aspect and gives us a higher opportunity to be success.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation and providing a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding competition leading to 'hidden talent' is a good point but lacks a specific illustrative example to fully support the claim. Similarly, the discussion on cooperation is somewhat repetitive, focusing primarily on stress reduction. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more concrete examples—such as mentioning collaborative research in science or team-based projects in the workplace—to substantiate your arguments more thoroughly.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'On the other side' and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of linking words is repetitive. For example, the phrase 'rather than having a competition with them' is used multiple times, which makes the writing feel slightly circular. Improving the variety of transition signals and ensuring that referencing (e.g., using pronouns to refer back to previous ideas) is more precise would help the essay flow more naturally.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the message to be conveyed clearly. You use some relevant topic-specific vocabulary like 'anxiety', 'conflicts', and 'potential'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward word choices or phrasing, such as 'it is believe by some people' (should be 'believed') and 'major amount of people' (should be 'the majority of people'). To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing. Expanding your range of academic vocabulary would also help elevate the tone of your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of the text. Examples include 'it is a good to have competition' (missing noun), 'due to the factor like' (should be 'factors like'), and 'to be success' (should be 'to be successful'). These errors are noticeable but do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement, article usage, and the correct form of adjectives versus nouns.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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