Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-12
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)
Many people believes that at work ,school and in daily life working, competition is a good thing while some argue that instead of competing, we should try to cooperate with others. I partially agree with the statement.
At first, I believes that competition is a good thing as it brings many benefits. At school, children having competition will try their best to do more work which will improve their marks and educational qualities and also it will encourge them to pay heed to their studies. At work, it can also make good results as competitors will try to do more work than others which will enhance the progress of work within short time. Same is the phenomenon in the daily routine life.
Secondly, it also results in some disadvantages. Students who are giving all the time to study to defeat others ,will be grown up with the fact that they had to win by hook or by crook. As a result, they will do anything for their victory. Some times if they were defeated, it will result in loss of their temper which will cause big problems like fight. Also, competition can cause mental and physical issues because people involved in competition will have no time to relax their body as they will spent all the time for their success. It can also cause some moral diseases which will affect the human character.
Overall, It has both positive and negative aspects. It can bring success while on the other hand, it can also results in big issues like fight and moral diseases.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on competition and cooperation and providing a personal opinion in the introduction. The candidate attempts to develop ideas regarding the benefits and drawbacks of competition in school, the workplace, and daily life. However, the discussion tends to be somewhat repetitive and lacks specific, well-supported examples. The opinion is stated as a partial agreement, but it is not fully explored throughout the body paragraphs, as the second body paragraph shifts to disadvantages rather than directly weighing the cooperative alternative requested by the prompt. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it at a Band 6.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a logical overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is attempted, though the body paragraphs are somewhat blocky and could be broken down further to separate distinct ideas, such as school versus workplace competition. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'At first' and 'Secondly', but some referencing is clumsy or repetitive (e.g., 'Same is the phenomenon in the daily routine life'). The progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by abrupt shifts and lack of smooth inter-sentence connections. This corresponds to the Band 6.0 descriptor for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'educational qualities', 'competitors', and 'disadvantages'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'Many people believes' (grammatical slip affecting lexical control), 'moral diseases', and 'loss of their temper'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary, but inaccuracies in phrasing and word formation restrict the score. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general message, aligning with a Band 5.5 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement ('Many people believes', 'if they were defeated'), tense consistency, and punctuation, such as missing spaces around commas ('work ,school'). While the meaning is generally clear despite these errors, the high frequency of basic mistakes prevents the text from reaching a Band 6.0. The overall control of grammar and punctuation is representative of a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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