Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

A group of people believe that in the competing world it is a good thing to compete in school and in daily life. While others believe everyone should just cooperate more, instead of competing each other.

I believe that with the developing world competition is increasing with time as growing population needs more effort to stand for a seat if we retreat rather than putting more effort it would be worth not more than a failure. Secondly, like daily life students in schools have to learn effectively for first position or to be a monitor of a group or leader of a community. It develops students extreme level domain of solving problems and dealing with multiple aspects of life also it is helpful in becoming independent citizen. Lastly, it is observed this competition in schools and jobs for a higher post human unlocks its critical thinking skills to improve itself.

On the other hand, this competition in schools between students it could be a sense of pressurizing students and comparing them with others. This competition leads to feeling of jealousy and even worse if student is short tempered with his daily life may encourage to revenge and fighting. Additionally, in companies this problem is more focused that this competition harms their reputation because they were using some harm chemicals to become more popular.

In conclusion to conclude that, competing others in skills is helpful and developing your own skills. However other point also has some legal views to stop competition and live a life of your own vibe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the task. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the argument regarding competition in schools is a list of benefits rather than a well-supported explanation. The counter-argument regarding negative impacts is also brief and lacks specific, illustrative examples. The conclusion is underdeveloped and does not effectively summarise the main points or restate the position clearly. To improve, you should aim to expand on your points with more detailed reasoning and concrete examples to ensure a more balanced and thorough discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'Secondly' and 'Lastly' are used, but the transitions between sentences are sometimes abrupt, making the flow feel disjointed. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'this problem is more focused that this competition harms their reputation', where the connection to the previous idea is weak. Improving the variety and precision of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing or incorrect word choice, such as 'competing world' instead of 'competitive world', 'stand for a seat', and 'legal views' when you likely meant 'valid points'. The repetition of basic words like 'competition' and 'students' limits the sophistication of the response. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using a wider variety of synonyms to express your ideas more naturally and precisely.

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 impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'human unlocks its critical thinking'), missing articles, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'competing others in skills is helpful'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly in the introduction and conclusion. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like verb forms and prepositions will help improve your accuracy.

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