Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-28

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)

Competition at work, school and in daily life has a significance, but sometimes it leads toward negative impact. The cooperation among workers and students can make a friendly environment which can boost their working and learning efficiency. Lets discuss both the points.

Competition at work and in school life can bring out the most significant qualities from you which can leads toward more progress. Many workers do competition among each other so that they can get into the eyes of their manager, which off-course is a good thing but it can leads toward depression as well, because in competition the workers take more stress, so that they can become number one. The same goes with students because if they'll take stress at their early ages, it will cause health problems, moreover a depression at school life is a very harmful thing.

Cooperation among students and among workers is a good thing, because in cooperation the students will be able to learn and grow more. Every student has a different mindset, so everyone will think differently and they will understand better, when different outcomes come on the table. For Instance, in my university life my class-fellows and i used to study together and we got excellent scores because of cooperation. The same will happen for workers, because they can find out the solution of every problem very quickly, when they all will cooperate with each other.

In my opinion, the more you cooperate with your fellows better results will await for you. Hence, we all should cooperate with each other in every aspect of our life to remain depression free and we'll get positive results, because unity is power.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention that competition leads to progress and stress, and that cooperation fosters efficiency, these points are not fully extended with deep analysis. The example regarding university life is relevant but brief. To reach a higher band, ensure that each body paragraph provides more detailed explanations or nuanced examples to support your claims. The position is consistent throughout, but the overall depth of the discussion remains at a functional level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'Moreover', and 'Hence', which help the flow. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to connect sentences more fluidly. Overall, the essay is easy to follow, but the cohesion is not yet sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'efficiency', 'mindset', and 'unity'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'get into the eyes of their manager' (an idiom that is not used correctly here) and 'a depression at school life' (which is grammatically awkward). To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and academic vocabulary rather than relying on common, everyday phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the quality of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('it can leads toward', 'many workers do competition'), incorrect use of articles, and punctuation errors. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they are frequent enough to keep the score in the 6.0 range. Focusing on proofreading for basic agreement and verb forms would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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