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)

Few of individuals had come to the conclusion that competition is great thing which can be at work, at school or in daily life. Yet, majority think cooperation is far better than competing. The following essay will discuss both the sides before making a concrete statement.

Competition brings out best of every one regardless of environment they are in. it helps employers or teachers to squish out every bit of output receivable. As an example, subject A and subject B were put in competitive work place the output result significantly more compared to normal environment. Also, competitive environment fosters motivational quality on personal level and helps in coping with real world challenges. Apart from this, many times competition leaves one individual’s facing failure which is demotivating if gone wrong.

On other hand, cooperative environment brings a calm sense of work. It motivates individuals to work in team and feels less stressful or burned-out due to constant rivalry. As an illustration many people working in corporate companies are facing same problem constantly working in a comparative environment which leads to Stressful working. Moreover, feeling often less productive on a long run.

In my opinion, it is true competition brings out best in everyone but it leaves individuals feeling more stressed and burned-out in the end or on a long run.

In conclusion, competition brings out best of everyone but leaves individuals feeling drained and feeling sad when faced with failure. Also, cooperative environment brings best for teamwork and feels less stressful compared

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the example of 'subject A and subject B' is vague and lacks sufficient detail to be persuasive. The conclusion is also incomplete, trailing off at the end, which impacts the overall clarity of your position. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph provides a clear, well-supported argument with concrete examples rather than general statements. Your position is present but could be more consistently integrated throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'Apart from this' and 'On other hand' are used, but the flow between sentences is sometimes disjointed. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the transition between the benefits of competition and the drawbacks is abrupt. Additionally, the final sentence of the essay is unfinished, which significantly disrupts the coherence of the conclusion. Improving the variety and precision of linking words will help create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic phrasing, such as 'great thing' and 'best of everyone'. There are also some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'squish out every bit of output' and 'comparative environment' (when you likely meant 'competitive'). While your meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of word-choice errors limit your score. Expanding your range to include more academic collocations and precise terminology would be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but the essay contains frequent grammatical errors. Common issues include missing articles ('in competitive work place'), incorrect verb forms ('leaves one individual’s facing failure'), and punctuation errors. Some sentences are also grammatically incomplete or awkward, such as 'feeling often less productive on a long run.' These errors are noticeable and occasionally require the reader to re-read to understand the intended meaning. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of articles before attempting more complex structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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