Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-11

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)

Some people believe that competition at educational, working place and in everyday life is a good practice. While others argue that we should try to work together more, rather than competing against one and other.

Having healthy competition in daily life brings better results. while it might lead to mental problems.

People trend to pit one and other on everyday bases, like in schools and workplace, often resulting in better performance this is mostly because it keeps that person motivated and thrilled. While, winning also comes with a reward of appreciation and sometime bonus. For instance, A teacher in my 5th grade would give a candy bar and applause to the student who score the highest in math. Mostly this meant a lot to the children, despite math being a hard subject everyday work really hard and almost no one fails that grade.

Often observed a lot of anxiety, stressed and depression amongst the students giving competitive exams, similarly in working professionals with toxic workplace this mostly caused because the constant pressure put on one person. Instead, we can help each other by dividing work, teaching concept, and getting the work done faster. This environment helps employees to learn from other and not miss deadline without being stressed. For example, while I was interning at a startup in the beginning it was very overwhelming for me to all those tasks in week but later after reaching out for the help for a senior employee work got much easier and fun.

Depict seeing a lot of growth while competing, it is true that a lot of stress can be caused if the compe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, though the conclusion is incomplete due to the abrupt ending. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of motivation through rewards and the negative impact of stress. However, the development of these points is somewhat superficial. The response lacks a clear, cohesive structure for the opinion, which is only hinted at in the final, unfinished paragraph. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph is fully developed and that the conclusion clearly synthesizes the arguments presented while restating your position in a complete, well-formed sentence.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the logical flow is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and a lack of cohesive devices. For example, the transition between the benefits of competition and the drawbacks is abrupt. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'this is mostly because', where the antecedent is ambiguous. The use of linking words is limited and occasionally mechanical. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider range of cohesive devices (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'in contrast') to connect sentences and ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'pit one and other' instead of 'compete with one another' and 'educational, working place' instead of 'educational and professional settings'. Some terms are used repetitively, and there is a lack of sophisticated or less common lexical items. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more precise academic vocabulary rather than relying on informal or incorrectly translated phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'student who score'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'everyday work really hard'), and missing articles or prepositions. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and sentence structure will significantly improve your score.

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

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