Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-16

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)

In the current society, the community is polarised into two groups almost equally regarding the issue that it is amazing to have the contest at professional places, at school and in regular routine.A school of thought favours the statement. However, others think that we should help each other to push ourself forward despite of scrtinize each other, which is completely opposite to the first given idea. This essay would shed light on both aspects. As far as I am concerned, I believe that competition should be must to find out the best one.

One of the most significant contributions of competition is to get authentic form of talent. These talented individuals has led to the developments of many unexpected breakthroughs, technical advancements and exanpasion of holistic knowledge which has enabled millions of individuals to recognise their strengths. For example, Dr APJ Abdul kalam, who was the renowned scientist of india had cracked so many competitions to become the paramount in his studies, he discovered the nuclear arsenals which made our country powerful with a nuclear capabilities.Thus, due to this we figured out the real strength of our country.

Shifting forward to the latter school of thought that cooperation has greatly improved the living standards through technical innovations. Advances in helping each other without any competition have made people's lives more convenient and productive. A survey conducted in the United States had it's findings published in a famous journal that 70% of societies are living with harmony and prosperity as they are extremely cooperative with each other and contributing a lot in other in order to get progress.

Pondering over the topic, although there are some benefits to cooperate with each other, I believe that real talent comes after a competition which can contribute exponentially to the welfare and progress of society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the view that competition is beneficial and the alternative view favouring cooperation, while also presenting a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as the discussion on scientific breakthroughs driven by competition and the social harmony brought by cooperation. However, some arguments are under-developed or supported with slightly vague examples, such as the unsourced survey statistic. Furthermore, there are minor factual inaccuracies or overly broad generalisations regarding historical figures. Despite these limitations, the central components of the prompt are covered adequately, placing this performance at a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each viewpoint, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Shifting forward to the latter school of thought' and 'Pondering over the topic', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or awkward. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional clunky phrasing interrupts the natural flow of information. Progression is discernible, yet the overall cohesion remains somewhat mechanical, matching the descriptors for Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic discussion, incorporating terms like 'polarised', 'holistic knowledge', 'exponentially', and 'innovations'. However, there are frequent noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and collocation throughout the text. Examples include 'contest at professional places' instead of workplaces, 'scrtinize' (misspelled and used incorrectly as a gerund preposition), 'push ourself forward', 'exanpasion', and 'nuclear arsenals'. These inaccuracies occasionally cause strain for the reader or reflect a limited control over less common lexical items, fitting solidly into Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting sophisticated structures with varying success. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, such as 'competition should be must to find out', 'These talented individuals has led' (subject-verb agreement error), and 'contributing a lot in other in order to get progress'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and verb forms persist throughout the essay. While these errors do not completely impede overall communication, they occur too frequently for a Band 6, making Band 5.0 the most accurate descriptor.

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

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