Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-14

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)

There has long been a debate over whether competition at work, at school, and in daily life is a good thing. Some individuals believe that challenges and competition can be beneficial, while others argue that we should try to cooperate with each other instead of competing against each other.

Advocates of this perspective maintain that competition is a good thing because it teaches us to concentrate on our work and motivates us to achieve our dreams. Another reason is that it also builds confidence in ourselves, which helps us work with different people. In addition, competition encourages us to manage our work on time and deal with different people.

Conversely, critics argue that we should try to help each other rather than challenge each other. We should care about others because not everyone likes competing with others. Furthermore, we should avoid rivalry so that unity can increase.

While both perspectives have merit, I am inclined to believe that competition is a good thing, but we should try to cooperate more instead of competing against each other. In this way, it can promote solidarity. Moreover, I think competition is also necessary because it builds confidence and encourages us to work with people and talk to them about different topics. This also teaches us how to handle difficult situations.

Having considered both perspectives, I believe that both competition and cooperation are important. We can learn unity through cooperation and can solve problems through competition because challenges also teach us patience and how to control ourselves. This is a good thing because knowing how to control ourselves helps us face challenges. That is why both competition and cooperation are important in life.

AI examiner evaluation

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 superficial. For example, the argument that competition 'builds confidence' is mentioned repeatedly without being fully explored or supported with concrete examples. The ideas are relevant but remain at a general level, lacking the depth required for a higher band. The conclusion attempts to synthesize the two views, which is positive, but the overall structure of the arguments could be more robustly supported to demonstrate a more sophisticated level of critical thinking.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'Advocates of this perspective,' 'Conversely,' and 'In addition' are used to link sentences and paragraphs. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, particularly the phrase 'deal with different people' and 'talk to them about different topics,' which appear multiple times. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the flow between some sentences feels slightly disjointed due to the limited variety of cohesive structures employed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher score. The student relies on basic, repetitive phrasing such as 'good thing,' 'different people,' and 'different topics.' While the meaning is always clear, there is little attempt to use less common lexical items or idiomatic language. The word choice is functional but lacks the sophistication or nuance that would demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise synonyms and varied collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the grammar is generally accurate and communication is not impeded, there is a lack of variety in sentence construction. Most sentences follow a similar pattern, and there is a tendency to use repetitive structures. There are no major errors that cause confusion, but the control over complex structures is limited. The punctuation is generally correct, but the overall grammatical range is somewhat restricted, keeping the score in the mid-range.

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