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)
Some people have perspective that having competition in different aspects of life, like at work and school is a good thing,while others argue by commenting we should have more supple personality instead of competing with each other.I think both are of equal importance but cooperation is more significant in various scenarios because it allows share of knowledge and solve problems together also less hate aginst each other , but competition is also essential.
One the one hand ,competition is necessary because it keeps the person motivated and improve skills . When some one is in competition with other ,so they try to enhance their skills and habit of hardwork is developed.For example , in universities culture there is competition for numerous complex task and assignment, therfore it helps students to achieve good grades and improve their skill of logical thinking, that is necessary fro competitive job market.
On the other hand, cooperation encourages disclosing of various ideas and share of knowledge, therefore it increase chances of sucess . Cooperation helps to overcome complex problems by combination of multiple skills contributed by experts in diffrent fields.For instance, Group projects at scope and tech companies produce better results and projects.When you help each other ,so there are less chances of hate rather than just focusing on defeating each other.
In conclusion, both competition and cooperation play important role in our lives. Although, competition motivates people to work harder and improve I think competition is particularly valuable because it encourages share of knowledge and solve problems.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention competition improves skills and cooperation helps solve problems, the arguments lack depth and specific, well-explained examples. The conclusion contains a significant contradiction: you state that cooperation is more significant in the introduction, but in the final sentence, you claim competition is 'particularly valuable' for sharing knowledge, which is logically inconsistent. To improve, ensure your supporting points are fully expanded and that your final position remains consistent with your earlier arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the awkward phrasing 'argue by commenting we should have more supple personality'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences is sometimes hindered by grammatical errors. Improving the variety and accuracy of your linking words and ensuring that each paragraph focuses on a single, well-developed idea will help improve the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'supple personality' (likely meaning cooperative or flexible) and 'disclosing of various ideas'. Some collocations are also unnatural, such as 'universities culture' instead of 'university culture'. To achieve a higher score, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and improving your control over collocations. Avoid repetitive phrasing and try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms to express your ideas more clearly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include missing articles ('in universities culture'), incorrect verb forms ('allows share of knowledge'), and punctuation errors, particularly with spacing after commas. There are also subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'it increase chances'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the clarity of your writing. You should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, specifically articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement, to ensure your complex sentences are error-free.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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