Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-29

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)

some people believe that competition among people in everyday life at work, at school is a positive thing. However, Others believe that try to cooperate between people more, instead of competing against each other. I believe that competition helps people to overcome challenges in daily life rather than cooperation.

Introducing a competition at work, at school helps to built people confidence, To overcome their challenges in daily life by having spirit of facing winning or losing among people. It helps people or students to work hard for winning spirit. For example, Every sports person should have sports spirit of winning or losing by celebrating their winning and should not degrade their self by losing. It helps people to overcome in their job search, If they are not getting selected by one company had to take like a challenge without losing hope and try for others company.

Rather than competing against each other, cooperation between people helps to give tips and suggestions for how to achieve something. It gives more confidence for people to win anything in life. cooperation built people to better communication and it helps to advice and having any problem for them in a task. Example, Students in a class should try to cooperate more than competing with each other it helps students to clarify doubts what they have not understand in a classroom and can get improvement in academic results.

In conclusion, competition among people at work, or at school helps people or students to achieve things more in future, it gives some sports spirit of winning or losing cannot decide what we are.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the argument for competition focuses heavily on 'sports spirit' and 'winning or losing,' which is a narrow interpretation of competition in professional or academic settings. The explanation of cooperation is also quite brief and lacks depth. To improve, you should aim to provide more nuanced examples and ensure that your arguments are fully extended rather than just stated. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and does not fully synthesize the points made in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'Introducing a competition at work, at school helps to built people confidence' is grammatically awkward and lacks a smooth logical link to the previous paragraph. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore,' 'consequently,' 'in contrast') and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that connects logically to the overall argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You rely on basic terms like 'good thing,' 'winning,' and 'people' repeatedly. There are also some collocation errors, such as 'built people confidence' (should be 'build people's confidence') and 'degrade their self' (should be 'degrade themselves'). To improve, try to incorporate more academic collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to workplace dynamics and educational environments. Avoid repeating the same words in close proximity, as this limits the sophistication of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'competition... helps to built'), missing articles, and incorrect word forms (e.g., 'cooperation built people to better communication'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like verb tense consistency and pluralization.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.