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)

It is an outgoing debate about competition in the workplace, education institutions and everyday life can bring positive results. However, others believe that people should focuse on cooperation instead of competing with each other. In this essay we can dissus both views. In my opinion cooperative environment is more important and has positive influence on workplace rather than having a rivalry.

On the one hand, competition encourage person to be more focused, work hard and improve their ability. When individuals complete each other they set higher goal. Competition improve their skills and also broaden their knowledge. In school they create compitation environment for the students to meet their goals. Students complete with each other for merit but these type of competitions help them to improve their thinking and knowledge. We can also see these type of competitions in Olympic Games competitors set higher goal for their opponent these activities improve their performance to win games. In addition we can also seen in the workplace employees improve their productivity and proformance to win bonuses and promotions. These activities help them how to perform in pressure and also teach useful skills.

On the other hand, cooparation is more effective because people can share their knowledge, skills and experiences with each other. Working as a team help them to work more efficiently they can divide their work. For example if company working on a large project working as a team everyone can show their skills and ideas which can improve their performance and they can complete it successfuly. Moreover it can also reduce the stress level and create a positive environment where they can work more efficiently.

In conclusion, completion can help people to work hard and achieve their desire goals. Nevertheless, I believe that completions is more beneficial overall because sharing knowledge and skills cam create a positive and support environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on competition and cooperation while presenting a clear personal opinion. The introduction states the writer's stance, and body paragraphs explore the arguments for both sides. The first body paragraph highlights how competition drives focus, goal setting, and skill enhancement, offering examples from schools and the Olympic Games. The second body paragraph outlines the advantages of cooperation, such as knowledge sharing and reduced stress. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or generalized, and there are occasional confusions between key terms, notably in the conclusion where 'completions' is used instead of 'competition'. Despite these minor vocabulary slips that blur the distinction between terms, the overall task requirements are met adequately, aligning well with a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, separating the introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Logical organization is generally maintained through standard cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and progression are occasionally faulty, and cohesive devices can feel somewhat mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases are sometimes abrupt, and sentences within paragraphs can lack smooth linking. Additionally, repetitive phrasing (such as 'These activities help them...') weakens the flow. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, but the management of cohesion keeps the response securely within the Band 6.0 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'productivity', 'efficiency', and 'cooperation'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text that occasionally impede precise communication. Examples include 'focuse' instead of 'focus', 'dissus' instead of 'discuss', 'compitation' instead of 'competition', 'complete' instead of 'compete', and 'cam' instead of 'can'. Furthermore, the writer confuses 'completion' with 'competition' in the final paragraph ('completion can help people...'). These errors show that while the writer has a sufficient vocabulary base to communicate main ideas, control over word formation and spelling is inconsistent, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptor closely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. The writer attempts various complex structures, such as conditional or participial clauses (e.g., 'When individuals complete each other they set higher goal'), but these attempts often contain grammatical or punctuation inaccuracies. There are frequent errors in verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and pluralization (e.g., 'competition encourage person', 'higher goal', 'These type of competitions', 'company working'). Punctuation is also weak, with run-on sentences lacking appropriate commas or conjunctions. While communication is rarely completely blocked, the frequency of grammatical errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score, making Band 5.0 the most accurate assessment.

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