Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-07

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)

The question of whether competition in daily life is a good thing or not is a highly debatable topic among people. Some people argue that competition bring more positive impacts. While I am inclined to believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. I'll elaborate my opinion with reasons in this essay.

The proponents of the first view assert that competing against each other provide an environment of growth and more success. The rationale behind it is that everyone work more hard due to external pressure to win a competition. For instance, students are being pressurized to get position which motivates them to study hard. Another example can be a bonus is announced to motivate employees to work more. Consequently, sometimes it gives good results such as student's academic and employee's work performance get better. But mostly, it has a detrimental effect on their psychological health and causes stress and anxiety. The recent data shows the increase in number of suicides because of competition stress among students and young working adults in the last decade.

Therefore, I believe that cooperation and collaboration have more positive impact. This is attributed to instead of pressurizing to win against each other, we boost their natural ability or talent to cooperate better. For example, when students work in a group project and do assigned work according to their capabilities it results in better learning and performance.

Another significant reason is that cooperation boost student's and employee's interpersonal skills. It include self confidence, patience, active listening and teamwork. Furthermore, it prepare them for the future and to resolve real life problems. They can learn from each other instead of competing against each other. This is more active form of learning.

To conclude, schools and companies should promote cooperation and teamwork environment rather than competitive environment. This plays a pivotal role in their learning and improving cognitive skills which ultimately improve their productivity. Thus, this will be beneficial for the companies and the schools.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of academic pressure and the benefits of collaborative learning. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the discussion on the negative psychological effects of competition is introduced but could be expanded with more specific examples or deeper analysis. The conclusion effectively summarizes the main points and reinforces the writer's stance. Overall, the response covers all parts of the task well, though some arguments could benefit from more detailed elaboration to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, such as the benefits of competition or the advantages of cooperation. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'consequently', 'therefore', and 'furthermore', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally clear, though the link between the first body paragraph's discussion of competition and the subsequent shift to cooperation could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, contributing to the overall readability of the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. The writer uses some topic-specific terms like 'proponents', 'detrimental effect', 'interpersonal skills', and 'cognitive skills'. However, there are some instances of imprecise word choice or minor collocation errors, such as 'everyone work more hard' (should be 'work harder') and 'competition bring' (should be 'competition brings'). While the range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication and flexibility required for higher bands. The vocabulary is functional but rarely moves beyond standard, expected terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'competition bring', 'everyone work', 'it include') and article usage. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward phrasings that slightly impede the flow. The errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, but they are frequent enough to indicate a lack of full control over complex structures. Improving consistency in verb forms and sentence construction would significantly enhance the quality of the writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.