Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-11

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)

The debate over the topic of competition at work, school or even in daily life is not new in our society, Some proportion of population are in favor of it while others believe that cooperation is more vital then a competition in culture. People who agree consider competition as a source of brainstorming whereas, the perspective of the other half is that the major element in the success of community is cooperation not competition.

The majority of the people usually agree with the integration of competition in various educational as well as professional activities. The particular reason for that is they believe that they could perform far greater in the presence of a competitors in an environment in contrast to their absences. In fact, societies who have positive competition among their citizens are more established and successful as compare to cooperative societies. Competition would also assist in gaining confidence while finishing the assignment because in competitive environment the failure of one can be the gain of other so everyone one should be motivated and devoted to their own consignment.

Conversely, the people who prefer coordination and cooperation over competition believes that competition leads to the development of personal conflicts which results in the harmful outcomes. Negative competition or over competition also add additional stress and burden on the mental health of a person. In fact, recent studies show that the competitive environment causes more digressional disorders in vulnerable population in contrast to cooperative culture. From my perspective, i am also in favor of this stance that competition adds unnecessary anxiety. However, cooperative culture is based on the principle of encouraging other people to do their task with same amount of passion. For example, in most cases, if a smooth brain person is working in a tough and challenging environment it will lead to the development of mental disorders of hypertension.

To conclude, the majority proportion of inhabitants of society is in favor of competition because from their point of view it boast creativity and dedication towards work and daily life activities however the minority half consider it as a extra burden for mental health.

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. While the benefits of competition are explained, the explanation of cooperation is less detailed and relies on somewhat vague assertions. The example provided regarding a 'smooth brain person' is unclear and does not effectively support the argument. To reach a higher band, ensure that each point is supported by clear, logical reasoning and relevant, well-explained examples rather than generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Conversely', 'In fact', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as the transition between the second and third paragraphs. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure would benefit from more sophisticated linking between sentences to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors. For example, 'digressional disorders' is not a standard term, and 'boast creativity' should be 'boost creativity'. While the student attempts to use less common vocabulary, these attempts are sometimes inaccurate, which occasionally hinders the precision of the argument. A more careful selection of words and attention to collocations would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('people... believes'), incorrect article usage, and awkward phrasing ('as compare to', 'in contrast to their absences'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, the student should focus on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and preposition usage.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.