Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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)

It is argued that competition at work place, at educational institutions and in routine life is beneficial, while others oppose by saying that the need of an hour is cooperation rather than competing against each other. I firmly believe that competition is more significant element as it invigorate the employee's energy to follow exact timelines and target.

On the one hand, rivalry kept focused the employees at work as both parties want to achieve accurate result on the early basis so it is beneficial for company's success. Moreover, at schools; pupils who involved in healthy competition can boost their performance and achieve top position in exam. Additionally students who engaged in competition saw themselves as they run in a race so they try to run fast and win it. Furthermore, contest is also an paramount asset in our daily life. The people who took routine things as a battle and comparing themselves with others can boost their probability to achieve the task earlier.

On the other hand, cooperation is also important at work, school and in daily life as it taught us team work and problem solving skills. Moreover, it can help us grow our professional network by working and talking politely with our colleagues. A survey conducted by the university of East Anglia's graduates in the year 2025 explained itself that 80% of students learn new things by working in a team, which helps them in future.

In conclusion, from my perspective cooperation is an important element in individual's life but competition provides them the infrastructure to take success over others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the argument that competition helps employees achieve results 'on the early basis' is vague and lacks depth. While the prompt asks for a discussion of both views, the conclusion contradicts the introduction; the introduction states competition is more significant, but the conclusion suggests cooperation is an important element without clearly reconciling the two. To reach a higher band, ensure that each supporting point is fully explained with concrete examples rather than general statements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Moreover,' and 'In conclusion' are used to link ideas. However, some transitions feel mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'students who engaged in competition saw themselves as they run in a race.' The flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of cohesive markers to avoid repetitive structures. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and supports the reader's understanding of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'achieve accurate result on the early basis' and 'take success over others.' While the student attempts to use some academic vocabulary like 'invigorate' and 'paramount asset,' the usage is sometimes slightly off-target. To improve, focus on learning word families and common collocations in an academic context rather than relying on direct translations or slightly misused sophisticated terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as 'pupils who involved in healthy competition' (should be 'who are involved') and 'it taught us team work' (should be 'it teaches us'). Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency are inconsistent throughout the text. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic tense and article usage would significantly improve the accuracy of the writing.

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

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