Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-06

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 few individuals have belief that a rivalry at work place , at education center and in daily life. while, other think that working together is more good than competing with each other. In my opinion, a health competition in good but in some case otherwise, people should help each other. Both the views with my opinion will be explained in upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand a health rivalry should be present so that people can do their work better. To elaborate, people need any motivation to complete their work in a better way or in best form and by competing with each other they try to win the race and do better work then they do in normal case. For example, a student or a employee will give their best if they are competing with others.

On the other hand people should help each other and try to collaborate more in their hard time or in emergancy situation. people should help others when they are faceing some problem in their work. Moreover, if a person is in emergancy situation then other should help then oppositing them. For example, a learner or a worker should help other person if he is faceing some problem in their work so that he can finish his job and sumbit it in time.

In conculsion, in my opinion, a better rivalry is good in some cases at work, school and in life so people can work better and give good outcome while, in hard time or in emergancy situation they should help each other to complete their work.

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. The arguments for competition and cooperation are repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the explanation of why competition is good relies on the simple idea of 'winning the race' without exploring the psychological or professional benefits in detail. Similarly, the section on cooperation is quite brief. To improve, you should expand on your points with more specific examples or nuanced reasoning to fully satisfy the requirements for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of linking words is limited. Some transitions feel abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the progression of ideas within paragraphs is smoother and more logical.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'do their work better' and 'good outcome'. There are also some errors in word choice, such as 'health competition' instead of 'healthy competition' and 'oppositing them' instead of 'opposing them'. To improve, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'professional development', 'collaborative environment', or 'constructive rivalry', and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations.

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 clarity. Examples include 'A few individuals have belief that a rivalry at work place' (missing articles and incorrect preposition usage) and 'if he is faceing some problem' (spelling and subject-verb agreement). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and spelling prevents a higher score. Focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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