Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

As the population of the world is constantly increasing. So every field of life has greater number of in it everyday, and with these rising numbers the competition in all the aspects is also becoming more and more fierce day by day. Some say competition is a good thing while some disagree and state there shouldn't be competition instead people should cooperative. In this essay I will discuss both opinions and also give my own opinion in the end.

On one hand are the people that state that there should be competition in school, at work, and in daily life provide many reasons for their opinion, such as the competition gives them a reason to work more harder than yesterday and in order to excel in life. Competition is like a source which keeps motivated to their work in such way that they are in battle and one wrong move gives the opponent an edge. In short this acts like a fuel for them.

On the other hand there are people who don't like competition at all. They feel it like a burden on their shoulders and don't like aggression in their daily life. Such people like work on their own pace and don't like themselves to be comapared to others. I personally am one of these people because I also hate competiton.

I hate the competition because I don't like myself to be compared to any other person, because I am a totally different person than the one I am being compared. I have my own pace, my own style and my habbits. My way of work might be different from that person. I might be better day time worker and he might be a better night time worker. He might be more knowlegeable whereas I might have more experience. For instance when I was in my highschool my house memebers always compared me to my other classmates that they scored more than you, and I would get so tensed that what would happen if don't catch up with him in my grades which stressed me all the time in my school. Because I know myself and love myself I don't want to be comapared to someone else.

In short you need to understand yourself better in order to improve rather than always looking upon someone better than you.

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 uneven. The discussion on the benefits of competition is quite brief and relies on general statements like 'fuel for them' without specific examples. The second body paragraph is more detailed, but it focuses heavily on personal experience rather than a balanced discussion of the broader societal implications of cooperation. To improve, ensure that both perspectives are explored with equal depth and that personal anecdotes are used to support, rather than replace, analytical points.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression from the introduction to the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally repetitive. For example, the transition 'On the other hand' is used correctly, but some sentences feel disconnected due to a lack of varied linking words. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using more sophisticated transition markers to show the relationship between ideas, such as 'consequently' or 'furthermore'.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'work more harder' (a double comparative) and 'house members' (likely meaning family members). The range is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors. To reach a higher band, you should aim to incorporate more precise academic collocations and avoid informal or repetitive language. Spelling errors, such as 'comapared', 'habbits', and 'knowlegeable', also occur.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Issues include sentence fragments (e.g., 'As the population of the world is constantly increasing.'), subject-verb agreement errors, and incorrect word forms (e.g., 'people should cooperative' instead of 'cooperate'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence boundary control and ensuring that verbs and adjectives are used in their correct forms will significantly improve your score.

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

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