Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-03

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 widely argued that, tournaments like football, cricket or other literacy competitions like quiz or exams are better to know and enhance a child's ability while other argue that we should teach children to be more cooperative rather than organising tournaments.

Some people believe that, it is better for students to take part in games and quiz competitions in their daily lives; such as class room's test, exams and sports like, football cricket ruining and so on because it is believed that by competing in such kind of contest will show the capability of students, for example, competing in football or cricket can improve not only their mental or physical but also leadership and communication skills. While taking test or giving exams in school will be helpful for not only students but tutor's too, by doing this a instructor is capable of his learner ability of achieving better score in school.

Although some people believe that, contest are not only waste of time but also decreasing a learner's confidence if he loses. For example, in class test if a pupil fails along with that an instructor is demonstrating his results all over the class this can get lack of confidence as well as an insult towards a child. Furthermore, in tournaments like football if one team wins and the other loses this can show the lack of practice and the audience will directly target the losing team. Owing to the the main reason behind not supporting everyday competitions are the failure of confidence with the insult and anxiety a child can go with.

In conclusion, i believe that competitions are better for knowing the literacy level along with it can help in physical and mental health but competitions can be tough for those who are not better not only in their curriculum but also in sports,, i believe the educational authorities should support those pupils and punish those who not only participate but demotivates the others

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, fulfilling the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While the benefits of competition are discussed, the counter-argument regarding cooperation is not explicitly explored as a distinct alternative; instead, the essay focuses on the negative aspects of competition. The conclusion introduces a confusing suggestion about 'punishing' those who demotivate others, which is not well-integrated into the previous arguments. To reach a higher band, ensure that both sides are balanced and that the personal opinion is clearly articulated and supported throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the phrase 'Owing to the the main reason behind not supporting everyday competitions are...' is grammatically awkward and disrupts the flow. Additionally, some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. While there is a clear attempt to use linking words like 'Although' and 'Furthermore', the overall structure would benefit from more sophisticated and varied cohesive devices to improve the logical flow between and within paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'literacy competitions like quiz' and 'tutor's too'. The student relies on basic vocabulary and occasionally struggles with collocations, such as 'get lack of confidence'. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic and precise terminology and pay closer attention to word forms and standard collocations to express ideas more naturally and effectively.

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 clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'tournaments... are better to know'), punctuation errors (e.g., double commas), and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'a instructor is capable of his learner ability'). The use of articles and prepositions is also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors prevents the writing from achieving a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

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