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)

A considerable amount of people believes 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 and daily life. For instance, if students participate in sports and music, they may become more focused on achieving their goals.

Furthermore, cooperate is more benefical rather than competition, because it helps to team group such as office project eassily solve at the workplace, Students can teach easily skills or study for instance If student didnot understand of teacher learning they will ask their colleague. In addition, cooperation can provide many benefits in daily life. People can easily solve financial problems by cooperating with their neighbours or friends.

As far as I am concerned, competition and cooperation are both beneficial at work, at school, and in daily life. Since each person has different goals, they may compete with others and also cooperate with them. At the workplace, people can take part in competitions and help each other to complete projects effectively. In addition, at school, students can get involved in annual functions and compete for rewards.

In conclusion, I believe that people should try to cooperate more rather than compete against each other because cooperation promotes love, kindness, and humanity. It also encourages people to help and support each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and provides a personal opinion, meeting the basic requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the paragraph on cooperation is fragmented and lacks clear, logical explanations for how cooperation functions in the workplace or school settings. The arguments provided are repetitive and lack depth, often relying on vague assertions rather than well-supported reasoning. While the position is clear, the supporting points are not fully extended, which limits the overall impact of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression within them is weak. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', 'In conclusion'), they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately. For instance, the transition between the benefits of cooperation and the examples provided is disjointed. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow of ideas between sentences is often interrupted by grammatical errors, making the text feel somewhat disjointed. Better use of linking words and clearer topic sentences would improve the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary range is adequate for the task but lacks precision and sophistication. There are several instances of incorrect word forms, such as 'cooperate' used as a noun instead of 'cooperation', and 'benefical' (spelling error). The student relies on basic, repetitive vocabulary like 'good', 'better', and 'help'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the presence of word-choice errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensuring correct word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'A considerable amount of people believes'), incorrect word order, and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'Students can teach easily skills'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and capital letters. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to distract the reader and indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures.

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