Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-07
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 often argued that at work, at educational institutes and in daily life competition is a positive thing, whereas others believed that people should try to cooperate more, instead of to do competition with each other. Although both perspectives have some validity, I believe that we should cooperate with each other instead of competing with one another because in this way, we can learn so much from each other.
Firstly, we have to cooperate with one another at daily life tasks. The primary reason why i agree with this view is, if we cooperate with each other, the environment became more friendly and we can learn different skills from one another. This is because, there is no stress of toxic people, even we can distribute our tasks and fulfill this task in time, without having stress. For example, if co-workers do work together, the task take less time and everyone put efforts and do it more effectively.
On the other hand, if individuals compete with each other’s, it also has some benefits. As, people worked hard to compete with each other’s and put all their efforts to became best. For instance, as students in school compete with each other, to get good grades and worked hard to get marks more than their competitor. Consequently, they got success due to efforts they put. And all the motivation come from competition.
In conclusion, while competition at workplace, educational institutions and in daily life has certain advantages, I believe that cooperate with each other is more beneficial option. This is because, individuals learned so much from this and grow together.
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 sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While the benefits of cooperation are mentioned, the explanation remains quite general, focusing on 'friendly environments' and 'stress reduction' without deeper analysis. Similarly, the section on competition is brief. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, nuanced examples or explore the implications of these concepts more thoroughly. The conclusion is present but could be more effectively linked to the main body points to reinforce your position.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' to signal the progression of your argument. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the use of referencing is occasionally imprecise (e.g., 'this task' refers back to a general concept rather than a specific noun). To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that pronouns and referencing clearly point to the intended antecedent to make the text feel more cohesive and less like a list of points.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'educational institutions' and 'co-workers'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is a tendency to repeat words like 'compete', 'competition', and 'cooperate'. There are also minor errors in word formation and collocation, such as 'to do competition' instead of 'to compete' and 'at daily life tasks' instead of 'in daily life'. Expanding your range of synonyms and focusing on natural collocations would significantly enhance your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the environment became more friendly', 'the task take less time', 'individuals learned so much'). Additionally, there are issues with pluralisation and possessives, such as 'each other’s' used incorrectly. These errors occur throughout the text and, while they do not prevent understanding, they indicate a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on consistent tense usage and basic grammatical accuracy will help improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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