Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-18
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)
Competition is becoming widespread in every aspect of life. People believing that competing with collegues at work and in schools will benefit them, on the other hand some think that working in collaborative environment is better instead of running against. This essay will provide insights for both the aspects and analyze that cooperation has more positive attributes.
In educational institutions, students progress their grades by comparing with others. This helps them to find the differences with their peers and overcome their scores. In organizations, competition has advantages to both employer and employee. For instance, if employee compete himself with others, he is more productive and offers best outcome to the company which also favors the employer.
Furthermore, work environments should be supportive, this provide the growth for the employees and also there will be less stress.
Individual work when done in a cooperative space will ease the workloads and improve the performance. In terms of schooling, if there is difficult topics where student find hard to ask his mentor, can discuss with his friend and complete his tasks in a collaborative space.
In my perspective, group work and study always has many merits. This also creates friendly conversation and people learn more than they ask for. Therefore, collaborative space is more better compared to competing. For example, during my exams, group study has helped me complete all my lessons without any doubts. Because, i was surrounded with people who were ready to cooperate and help me understand the difficult topics. Competition always created challenges and narrow growth in my life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before providing a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how competition benefits employers is brief and lacks depth. The arguments regarding cooperation are more personal and anecdotal, which is acceptable but could be strengthened with more generalized reasoning. The position is consistent throughout, but the essay would benefit from more detailed examples to fully explore the implications of both concepts in professional and academic settings.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Furthermore' and 'Therefore', but some transitions feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'on the other hand some think' in the introduction, which lacks a proper subject. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. The progression of ideas is evident, but the connection between the competitive and cooperative arguments could be more sophisticated to improve the overall coherence of the piece.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some repetitive word choices, such as 'space' and 'work', and some awkward collocations like 'overcome their scores' or 'narrow growth'. While the meaning is always clear, the student relies on relatively simple language. To improve, the student should aim to use more precise academic vocabulary and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for a formal essay, rather than relying on basic descriptive terms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'People believing that...' (should be 'People who believe...'), 'if employee compete himself' (subject-verb agreement and pronoun usage), and 'more better' (a double comparative error). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with sentence fragments and run-on sentences. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they indicate a need for more consistent control over basic and complex grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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