Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-15
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 5.0)
In this contemporary world, there is an increasing debate whether competition at professional setting, at academic level and in personal life is a positive development. Some argue that competitive environment brings the best outcome, whilst other believe that working cooperatively is better. While healthy competition can sometimes get positive result, however, in my opinion teamwork is the ultimate way to achieve the goal.
On the one hand, critics argue that human beings are naturally competitive beings, they tend to excel any give task when there is any form of comparison made. Due to which in many workplaces employers tend to introduce title of best employee of the month to encourage worker to work harder. Similarly, examinations are held in schools to evaluate the students' performance, which has proven to be effective for many students. This clearly demonstrates that health sense of competition in professional, personal, and academical setting can be fruitful as people are more willing to prove others that they are better than anyone. However, I personal think that competing against your colleagues, friends, and families can be toxic for your mental health.
On the other hand, when there is constant pressure of becoming the best out of all, this can impact individuals' mental health.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student addresses both views regarding competition and cooperation and presents a clear personal opinion in the introduction ("teamwork is the ultimate way to achieve the goal"). However, the response is severely truncated, containing only 206 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. This under-length impacts the development of ideas, as the second body paragraph is abruptly cut off in the middle of a sentence ("On the other hand, when there is constant pressure..."). Consequently, the main body is incomplete, leading to a partial and underdeveloped response that aligns with Band 5 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay shows some organizational structure with standard signposting phrases like "On the one hand" and "On the other hand". However, progression is disrupted by the incomplete nature of the response. Paragraphing is attempted, but the second opposing view is left dangling and uncompleted. Cohesive devices are used, but their effectiveness is undermined by the abrupt ending of the text. Overall, referencing and logical flow are compromised, placing the essay firmly at Band 5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as "contemporary world", "competitive environment", and "fruitful". There are, however, several noticeable lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, such as "professional setting" lacking an article, "human beings are naturally competitive beings" (repetition), "any give task" (grammatical slip), and "health sense of competition" (incorrect adjective form instead of "healthy"). These errors do not entirely impede communication but restrict the score to Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as concessive clauses starting with "While healthy competition can..." and conditional/participial structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that cause difficulty for the reader, including preposition issues ("at professional setting", "at academic level"), subject-verb agreement problems ("other believe", "worker to work"), and awkward phrasing ("I personal think"). Furthermore, the unfinished final sentence demonstrates a lack of structural completion. These frequent errors correspond to a Band 5 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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