Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24

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 good proportion of individuals believe that healthy competition although in academics or in corporate sector is important for good performance, in contrast other people believes that instead of competing against their own friends and colleagues, we must focus on working together and make our institute progress, with collective effort. In this essay, I will discuss both views and also share my own opinion.

Firstly, people believed that healthy competition is vital to work with better efficiency. It keeps you on right path and brings your best from yourself. For example, when students are competing against their class fellows, they put all their efforts to achieve highest numbers in class, so eventually every one in class ends up with good grades. Teachers and parents encouraged their students to take part in competition so they learn discipline, patience and also learn how to handle failure.

However the critics raised the valid concern that, competing against their own fellows is not admirable since it will spark revenge ability of failed fellows against their own friends. So, competition against their own friends is also concerning. Therefore, every one should work together and teach unfamiliar things to their colleagues will eventually benefit their institution. For instance, in corporate sector, their is team which is lead by team lead, they all work collectively in same program and finish all tasks

together.

In conclusion, although competition can motivate people to work harder and achieve better results, I believe that cooperation is more beneficial in the long term. By working together and supporting one another, people can share ideas, solve problems more effectively, and create a more positive environment at work, in education, and in everyday life. Therefore, competition should be encouraged to some extent, but cooperation should be given greater importance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of academic performance and corporate teamwork. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument regarding 'revenge ability' is a bit vague and could have been expanded with a more concrete example to fully support the point. The conclusion effectively synthesizes the two views, but the overall depth of analysis remains at a 6.0 level as some points are stated rather than fully explored.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each view, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'in contrast other people believes' (which also contains a grammatical error). The referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved to achieve a more natural progression of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different viewpoints.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'admirable' and 'collectively', but there are also instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'revenge ability' and 'unfamiliar things'. Some phrasing is repetitive, and there are minor errors in collocation, such as 'in academics or in corporate sector' (should be 'in the academic or corporate sectors'). The range is sufficient to communicate, but lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('other people believes', 'there is team which is lead') and article usage ('in corporate sector', 'on right path'). Punctuation is generally functional, though some sentences are slightly run-on or lack necessary commas. The errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. A wider variety of error-free complex structures would be needed to reach the 7.0 band.

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