Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-20

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)

Currently, competition is pivotal across cooperation. According to some people, competition has been better at various life aspects rather than cooperation but some have opposite views to this. In this essay, I will discuss both views of people give my opinion regarding this discussion and, draw the conclusion.

There are several reasons of competition is good thing. Firstly in school, competition is crucial for students because, they will help them to achieve higher grades by competing others. They will try to do hard work day and night. Secondly, work competition plays an important role among employers of company due to the fact, they will be having more chances of promotion high paid salaries. Thirdly, competition helps people to stay focused and determine toward their goals. In addition, competition also lays positive impact on human mind.

Some people argue that cooperation is more peaceful in contrast to competition. In practical life, families cooperation make life much more better and calm although, students cooperation with teachers make them more punctual and responsible even so, cooperation is also important to maintain serenity across societies. Through cooperation, everyone will be able to understand their responsibilities without any quarrel.

In my opinion, competition is dominant over cooperation because, in this modern era, everyone is busy so, competition develop the sense of growing ahead besides, cooperation is also beneficial to maintain the peace in society.

In conclusion, cooperation and competition owning both positive and negative aspects. If competition develop a person into responsible citizen, also cooperation will make them more productive that will prove beneficial in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the points regarding competition in school and work are listed rather than fully explored with specific examples or logical depth. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesise the arguments presented. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more detailed explanations for your points, ensuring that each paragraph has a clear, well-supported main idea that directly contributes to your overall position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. Phrases like 'even so' and 'besides' are used in ways that do not always logically connect the sentences. Additionally, there are issues with referencing and flow; for instance, the transition between the discussion of competition and cooperation feels abrupt. Improving the variety and precision of your linking words and ensuring that each sentence flows naturally from the previous one will significantly improve the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'good thing' and 'better', which are repetitive. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'competition is pivotal across cooperation' and 'determine toward their goals' (which should be 'determined'). To improve, focus on using more academic vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct collocations. Expanding your range to include more nuanced synonyms will help you express your ideas with greater clarity and sophistication.

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. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'competition develop' instead of 'develops'), missing articles, and incorrect preposition usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, these persistent errors prevent the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading your work to catch basic errors in tense and agreement, and practice using more complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, to demonstrate greater grammatical control.

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

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