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)

nowadays with the development in the various fields competition has increased alot. Several individuals that competition in various fields like at work, school and even in daily life is a good thing. Other people say that we must cooperate with each other instead of competition. In this essay, I will discuss both the views and will give my opinion. At the end of the discussion, I will draw a conclusion of the whole dicussion.

On one hand, competition in every aspect like routine life, in education and even at work are beneficial things in a positive way. It helps individuals to improve themselves in many ways. It also builts confidence in people that they can do anything as many other do in their surrounding evnironment. For example, at office their is also high competition, everyone want to become good and hardworking before their boss so that they can get promotion in no time and get benefits as others. In short, it is a psotive thing as it gives rise to courage of doing things about which people think they can never do so.

On the other hand, some people argue that indiduals must mutually cooperate with each other at every step instead of competition. When people compete with each other for their survival at a place it increases selfishness. Students at school not only learn books they also learn alot of things like how to behave with others in a good way. For instance, people when compete with eachother they limit themselves and it recuces the interaction of individuals with others which increases the risk of depression among them.

In my opinion, competition in various departments is a good but in a positive way so that it does not harm any individual either mentally or physically.

To brief the above discussion, cooperation and competition must go hand in hand so that create a peaceful environment whereever we work with other individuals.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument regarding competition increasing confidence is mentioned but not fully explored with a concrete, well-developed example. The discussion on cooperation is also quite brief, relying on general statements rather than specific, illustrative examples. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand your supporting points with more depth and detail, ensuring that the link between your examples and the main argument is explicit and logical.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'For instance' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of cohesive devices is limited. There are also instances where the progression of ideas feels slightly repetitive, particularly in the introduction and conclusion. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally into the next would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'mutually', 'beneficial', and 'interaction'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and minor spelling errors, such as 'builts' instead of 'builds', 'evnironment' instead of 'environment', and 'recuces' instead of 'reduces'. The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more sophisticated synonyms to express your ideas more accurately and naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally hinder the reader. Examples include 'Several individuals that competition... is a good thing' (missing a verb), 'at office their is also high competition' (incorrect article and homophone error), and 'everyone want to become' (subject-verb agreement). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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