Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

People have different views about whether competition is beneficial at work, at school, and in daily life, while others believe that cooperation is more important than competition. Though both views have merits, but i believe that healthy competition is good in our life to improve.

One of the main reason about the this view is personal growth in their life, a perspective that is important to one's life. This is primarily because, competition makes people to improve than others that strengthened themselves. Consequently, they work hard, improve new skills, do their things on time to get ahead of their fellow members or people. A compelling reason of this is, students study well to do better and get better marks than their friends at school. Therefore, people firmly believe that healthy competition can be helpful for people.

Nevertheless, some people support cooperation more than competition. This is beacause, if people work in a coopeartive way they can share their similiar interests with others and grow together. In this way, they share ideas, skills and knowledge with others and make progess. For instance, if one project is done by multiple individi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response presents a clear position on the topic, acknowledging both views before offering a personal perspective in the introduction. However, the task achievement is significantly undermined by two major issues. First, the essay is severely under-length, containing only 189 words compared to the required 250-word minimum, which heavily restricts development. Second, the response is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence ('For instance, if one project is done by multiple individi'). Consequently, the second viewpoint and the conclusion are not fully addressed, placing the response firmly within the lower-middle band descriptors for failing to complete the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay attempts a logical paragraph structure with an introduction and body paragraphs addressing the opposing views. However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. The transition between sentences often lacks smooth progression, as seen in repetitive phrases like 'a perspective that is important to one's life' and 'A compelling reason of this is'. Furthermore, the referencing is unclear in places (e.g., 'One of the main reason about the this view is personal growth in their life'). Paragraphing is also disrupted because the essay is incomplete, stopping abruptly in the middle of a third paragraph. Overall, the organizational structure shows basic attempts at paragraphing but lacks cohesive control.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with frequent lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations. Examples include 'improve new skills' instead of 'acquire or develop new skills', and spelling errors such as 'coopeartive' and 'individi'. While the student manages to communicate general concepts related to the topic—using words like 'competition', 'cooperation', and 'growth'—the range of vocabulary is limited. Less common lexical items are attempted but usually result in unnatural phrasing or incorrect word forms. Vocabulary control is insufficient to convey precise meaning flexibly, limiting the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are noticeable structural errors, such as the initial sentence containing a conjunction error ('Though both views have merits, but i...'). Other issues include subject-verb agreement errors ('competition makes people to improve') and awkward phrasing ('One of the main reason about the this view'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent (e.g., lowercase 'i'). Because the essay is unfinished, the structural range remains limited, and frequent errors occasionally impede smooth reading, justifying a Band 5.0 for grammar.

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