Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-08

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)

Nowadays, in every place there was competition between people such as at work, business, in school. Every person have to do best than other people. Some people believed it positively and on other hand people thinks that we should cooperate with each other rather than competing with everybody.

People believed that competition is necessary in life as because of it people always get motivated and try to do their best to compete there opponents. For example, in school if one students get highest marks than other students and that students get awarded and appreciated for their hard work then by seeing such appreciation other student try to get good marks in their upcoming exams. Such situation boost student moral and increase their performance. As every people always wanted to be at top position and to be successful in their life. By having competition person have to faced different challenges and by facing such challenges it helps them in future.

On other hand, some people think that rather than competing with other people, everyone have to cooperate and work together to achieve goals, For example, in school time student should be learn to work together as student who get highest marks should teach other student how they can improve them and manage to get good marks. By cooperating with each other it helps to improve teamwork, confidence and communication. Additionally, it also remove belief of having enemy or opponents.

In my opinion, having competition is good in some situations as it improve people's skills and helps them for developments in their life, and in some situation it also good to not have competition as it helps to build teamwork, manage to work with other etc.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before providing a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you provide examples, such as the school scenario, the explanation remains quite basic and repetitive. To reach a higher band, you should aim to extend your arguments with more depth and nuance. For instance, instead of just stating that competition motivates students, you could discuss the potential psychological impact or the long-term effects on workplace culture. Your position is clear throughout, but the overall depth of analysis is consistent with a mid-level performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use some cohesive devices like 'For example', 'On other hand', and 'Additionally' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly inaccurate, such as the missing article in 'On other hand'. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the transitions between sentences could be smoother to improve the flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately, which helps the reader follow your argument, but the overall structure lacks the sophisticated cohesion required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'motivated', 'performance', 'teamwork', and 'communication'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing or word choice, such as 'do best than other people' instead of 'do better than others' and 'remove belief of having enemy'. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or idiomatic language. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more precise vocabulary to convey your meaning more 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 throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'Every person have to', 'student should be learn'), article usage (e.g., 'in school time'), and pluralization (e.g., 'compete there opponents'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent and noticeable. To achieve a higher score, you need to work on your control of basic grammar, particularly verb tenses and subject-verb agreement, and attempt to use a wider variety of complex structures with greater accuracy.

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

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