Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-01

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 considerable number of people believe that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a great thing. Other people agree that we should attempt to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. Furthermore, this essay will discuss both perspectives before presenting my own opinion.

To begin with, competition is beneficial in the workplace because it helps people gain better opportunities and teaches them how to achieve success. Challenges are also beneficial in school. For instance, if students participate in sports and music, they may become more focused on achieving their goals. In daily life, people face different challenges such as managing their time, solving problems and dealing with different situations. These challenges can help people become more confident, responsible and better at making decision.

Furthermore, cooperation plays a vital role in work, for instance when employment work together in the workplace they can easily solve problems. In school, cooperation helps students improve their studies by working together in groups. However, in daily life cooperation is beneficial people need to work together to solve problems and achieve common goals. For example, family members can cooperate with each other by sharing household responsibilities. This can save time and create a more supportive environment

In conclusion, I believe that success is part of life, and both competition and cooperation help people achieve their goals. Competition teaches people how to achieve their goals and success by competing with their colleagues. Cooperation helps people work together and "this pushes them to develop more effective problem-solving skills"

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, satisfying the prompt's requirements. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the paragraph on competition lists benefits in work, school, and daily life but lacks depth or specific, well-explained examples. The conclusion is also quite abrupt and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detailed explanations or concrete illustrations rather than simply listing them. Your position is clear, but it could be more consistently maintained throughout the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion', which help the reader follow your argument. However, some transitions are mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition 'However, in daily life cooperation is beneficial people need to work together' is missing a conjunction or punctuation, which disrupts the flow. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the vague use of 'this' in the final sentence. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring they are used with precise punctuation will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'beneficial', 'supportive', and 'responsibilities'. However, the vocabulary is somewhat basic and lacks the precision or sophistication required for higher bands. There are also some minor collocation errors, such as 'employment work together' (should be 'employees') and 'making decision' (should be 'making decisions'). To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific collocations and less common lexical items. Avoid repeating the same phrases, such as 'achieve their goals', which appears multiple times and limits the range of your expression.

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 several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Examples include 'employment work together' instead of 'employees', 'making decision' instead of 'decisions', and the missing punctuation in the third paragraph. There is also a lack of variety in complex structures; most sentences follow a similar pattern. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, pluralization, and the correct use of articles. Increasing your use of varied complex sentence forms, such as conditional or relative clauses, will help demonstrate better grammatical control.

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

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