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 few individuals believe the competition at work, at education institution and in daily life is a good thing while others argue that we should try to cooperate more instead of competing against each other. I am going to discuss both the perspectives before explaining why i believe that competition is essential at work, school and in daily routine.

From one perspective, Others argue that we should cooperate with each other instead of competition. co-operating among each other will enhance your caring nature but will not lead you to your success. For instance, if i co-operate with my friend at work to take the advantage of my work and get praised for it this will not help me to become successful in life.

Another perspective is that, competition will helps you in improving where you were lacked before. It gives you motivation to achieve something in life. In addition, competition teaches us to handle both winning and losing positively. Every individual who is successful today has become successful by competing with fellow friends not by co-operating. For example, if i compete now at work with my fellow employee this will encourage me and can also give me an achievement by promotion in the company.

In conclusion, Competition is essential nowadays from your career perspective which can give you multiple achievements in future. Whereas cooperating with each other leads to conflict and disagreement. I strongly believe that competition at work, at educational institution and in ordinary life is a good aspect

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on generalizations. For instance, the claim that 'every individual who is successful today has become successful by competing' is an overstatement that lacks nuance. The arguments regarding cooperation are also underdeveloped, as the essay suggests cooperation leads to conflict without providing a balanced explanation of its benefits. To improve, you should provide more detailed examples and explore the complexities of both competition and cooperation rather than presenting them in a binary, simplistic manner.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. For example, the transition 'From one perspective, Others argue...' is slightly awkward, and the use of 'For instance' and 'For example' is predictable. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the link between cooperating and 'taking advantage of my work' is not fully explained. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, unified topic sentence would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good thing', 'successful', and 'achievement'. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'at education institution' (should be 'educational institutions') and 'improving where you were lacked before' (which is grammatically incorrect and imprecise). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'collaborative environments', 'professional advancement', or 'constructive rivalry', and ensure you use words in their correct context.

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 'competition will helps you' (subject-verb agreement error), 'co-operating among each other' (redundant preposition), and 'at educational institution' (missing article). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and refining complex sentence structures will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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