Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-23

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)

Nowadays, some people believe that competition at work, school and in daily life is played a crucial role in humans life, while others think that people should cooperate more with each other rather that competing each other.

On the one hand, competition may encourage people to work harder and achieve their goals. When people compete with others, they think that they need to get more improvement so they work harder and gained more skills and knowledge. For example i m am preparing for IELTS exam and i got 5 bands last the but i need 7 bands for my studies. Therefore i will study more harder to get 7 band bands it will improve my communication skills, writing and listening. Similarly, competition between employees can encourage them to complete their task on time and improve their performances.

On the other hand, cooperation also played important role in human life because people can achieve better results by working together. When people share there knowledge and help each other i think they can learn about more skills and knowledge from each other for instance, in my college time me and my friends discussed topics together that time, some of the topics i know very well and i learned from them which topics i don't know this was the good idea i passed with good marks in my exam.

In conclusion, competition can motivate people to achieve better results, whereas cooperation helps people work together. Therefore i believe that a balance between competition and cooperation is best to achieve your goal and for knowledge.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of IELTS preparation and college group work. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of how competition leads to 'more improvement' is a bit repetitive and lacks depth. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples with more specific analysis of the long-term impacts of these concepts rather than just stating that they help with marks or tasks.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear, such as 'that time, some of the topics i know very well'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on simple terms like 'good thing', 'work harder', and 'good marks'. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'get more improvement' instead of 'make more progress'. While your meaning is always clear, you need to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items and collocations to demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language. Focus on using more academic synonyms for common verbs and adjectives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'competition... is played a crucial role', 'i m am preparing', and 'me and my friends discussed'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capitalization of 'I'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to limit your score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage to improve accuracy.

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

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