Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-14

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)

Competition is an integral part of modern life,particularly in education and the the workplace.While some students are consider at the competition beneficial because it encaurges the individuals to achieve more,others,arguethat coperation is preferable.In my view,although healthy comprtition can be motivating,coperation is more important for achieving long-term sucess .

On the one hand,competition can encourage people to work harder and improve thier performance.When the students complete with thier classmates,for example,they may become more motivated to study,develop better time-management skills and achieve higher grades.Similarly,competition in the work places can encourage employes to enhance thier skills and become more productive.Bussinesses also benefit from competition because companies are pushed to improve the quality of thier products and services.Therefore,a reasonable degree of competition can promote ambition,innovation and personal development.

On the other hand,exessive competition can create stress and damage relationships.If people become overly focused on defeating others,they may be unwilling to share knowledge or provide assistance.In schools,for instance,students who constantly complete for the highest marks may regard thier classmates as rivals rather than friends.Cooperation,by contract,allows individuals to combine thier abilities,exchange ideas and solve problems more effectively.In professional envirinments,teamwork is particularly important because complex projects often require people with different skills to work towards a common objective.

In conclusions,competition can motivate people to perform better and achieve ambitious goals,but exessive rivalry can have neagtive consequenses.I believe that a balanced approch is best,in which healthy comprtition encourages individual improvement while cooperation remains the foundation of sucessful relationships and collective achievements.

These all are the my thaughts about the given statement.

AI examiner evaluation

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 clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant and supported by examples, such as students competing for higher marks or employees enhancing their productivity. For instance, the writer notes that 'when the students complete with thier classmates,for example,they may become more motivated to study'. However, some supporting ideas remain slightly generalised and could be extended further. Overall, the position is well maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, and is best placed at a solid Band 6.0 due to some under-development in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraphing structure, featuring a distinct introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a conclusion. Logical connectors are used to structure the arguments, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, and referencing is occasionally hindered by spacing and punctuation errors, for example, missing spaces after commas and periods throughout the text (e.g., 'modern life,particularly' and 'workplaces,for example'). Paragraph progression is generally clear, but the mechanical flaws in punctuation pull the cohesion down to a Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'integral part', 'long-term sucess', and 'collective achievements'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors that occur throughout the text, including 'encaurges', 'arguethat', 'coperation', 'comprtition', 'thier', 'work places', 'employes', 'Bussinesses', 'exessive', 'envirinments', 'conquenses', 'approch', and 'thaughts'. Although these errors do not severely impede communication because the context remains understandable, their high frequency prevents the vocabulary score from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.5 the most appropriate descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over conditional and subordinate clauses, such as 'If people become overly focused on defeating others,they may be unwilling to share knowledge'. However, there are persistent grammatical and punctuation inaccuracies throughout the response. Frequent mechanical errors include missing spaces after punctuation marks and capitalization issues, alongside lexical-grammatical slips like 'students are consider at the competition' and 'these all are the my thaughts'. While communication is rarely impeded, the density of minor structural and mechanical errors places this firmly in the Band 5.0 to 5.5 range, fitting best at Band 5.0.

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