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)
People have differing views regarding wheather to compete at work, at school and in daily life or to co-operate more, rather than competing against each other. While some argue that the competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing, others believe that one should try to co-operate, rather than competing against each other. This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why I believe co-operation is better than competition.
On the one hand, supporters of competition in daily activities argue that, it will encourage people to study and work efficiently. The main reason is that having a competition make the people more attentive towards their work and they try to give their best to be the part of competition. For example, people in the software companies work in competition with each other and they prove their working abilities. As a result they get promoted to the senior posts.
on the other hand, those who support co-operation in working, point out that a group of people working in co-operation with each other will build a good team.
This is particularly important because a proper team work is crucial to get the advantageous results. For instance, medical team consists of a group of individuals working in co-operation with each other to provide appropriate treatment to the people.
In conclusion, both views have their own merits. However, I believe that working in co-operation is beneficial than working in competition, mainly because proper team work and desired results are possible by working in cooperation with each other.
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 all parts of the task by discussing both the views in favour of competition and those in favour of cooperation, while also presenting a clear overall position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as mentioning software companies for competition and medical teams for cooperation. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat limited and repetitive, which prevents the essay from reaching higher band scores. For instance, the argument regarding software companies lacks deeper exploration into why competition specifically drives efficiency beyond a general statement. To achieve a Band 7, the student needs to extend and support their ideas with more specific details or examples rather than relying on brief generalisations.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, featuring an introduction, two body paragraphs representing each perspective, and a concluding paragraph. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical and repetitive, with heavy reliance on repeating exact phrases from the prompt like 'co-operate more, rather than competing against each other'. Furthermore, paragraphing is generally appropriate, but the logical progression within the body paragraphs could be smoother with more varied transitional phrases.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate their ideas clearly regarding competition and cooperation. There are attempts at less common vocabulary items such as 'efficiently', 'advantageous', and 'perspectives'. However, the vocabulary is frequently repetitive, and there are some awkward word choices and spelling errors, such as 'wheather' instead of 'whether' and 'advantageous results' instead of 'beneficial outcomes'. Collocations are sometimes unnatural, for example, 'working in competition with each other'. These minor lexical inaccuracies and repetitions place the response firmly in Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional clauses and relative clauses (e.g., 'While some argue that...'). There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including punctuation errors (such as the lowercase 'on the other hand' in the second body paragraph), article misuse ('the competition'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('making the people make' or 'a proper team work'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is not impeded. The balance of simple and complex structures with occasional grammatical slips aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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