Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-25

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)

The growing influence of competition in modern society has sparked various debates. Some individuals believe that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others argue that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. In this essay, I will discuss both view and give my opinion with some suitable examples.

On the one hand, the first main benefits of competition in work or school, it creates confidence between students and employees. They totally focus on task, and they want to complete work within the short terms and save time for others need and developed the new opportunities for promoting tasks and their job grade. For example, my brother firstly did not focus on education and spent most time for playing games, but after competition with others student he mostly give time on books, and he wanted to get the A+ grade in exam.

On the other hand, there are many benefits of teamwork, they easily learn the new and different things. Sometime people face problems for doing something, but with help of other they easily understand issues and work on it and solve it. Furthermore, competition create misunderstanding among people and student, however, teamwork make relationship between them and people spent their time friendly. For instance. in any international cricket match, they need 11 players for playing game and without any one player they do not play match and sometimes they lose match due to one player for not playing it.

In conclusion, some pe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, although the conclusion is incomplete. The ideas regarding competition and cooperation are relevant, but they are somewhat under-developed. For instance, the argument about competition creating 'confidence' is not fully explained, and the example of the brother is a bit simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should ensure that each point is supported by more detailed reasoning and that the essay is fully completed. The current structure is clear, but the lack of a finished conclusion impacts the overall task response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay uses basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' to signal transitions between paragraphs. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the abrupt transition in the final paragraph. Paragraphing is present, but the logical flow within paragraphs is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas could be smoother. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that sentences within paragraphs are more tightly connected would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on common, repetitive words like 'good', 'things', and 'work'. While you attempt some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'modern society' and 'international cricket match', there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'short terms' instead of 'short timeframes' or 'create misunderstanding' instead of 'foster rivalry'. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to express your ideas with greater sophistication and clarity.

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 readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'competition create'), incorrect article usage, and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'they mostly give time on books'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and sentence fragments. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and practicing the construction of more complex, error-free sentences.

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