Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-18
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)
Some indiviudals believe that competition is suitable thing weather it is at job, at academic and regular life. While other argue that we should live together rathe than challenging on another. This essay will discuss bith this views, but i believe that healthy competition is benficial and we should coordinate each other in job or daily life.
On the one hand, competition can motivate people to improve their performance, when student compete with their classmate they study harder try to achieve better grades. Similarrly, competition in workplace encourage employee develop new skills and complete their task efficiently. For exampple, sales workers try to achieve higher targets and this may increase the productivity and it pushed them to work harder.Therefore, healthy rivalry can help people become more ambitious and succesful in life.
On the other hand, cooperating can create a more supportive and productive environment, when people working together they can share their knowledge and skills.This cooperative working help them to handle any task given by their Manger. This is particulary vital at schools, where students can learn from each other instead of focusing on individual success. For example, a person who cooperate can successful easily in life with the help of their colleague and schools friends. Moreover, excessive competition may sometimes create stress and cinfilct between in individuals daily life.
In conclusion, competition help people to achieve their aim however it can damage relationship and reduce teamwork. I believe that cooperation is more essential in every pathway of life individuals manage any hurdle with the help of colleague.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on competition and cooperation while also providing a clear position. The introduction sets the tone by stating that competition is beneficial, which is carried through into the body paragraphs. Ideas are extended with relevant examples, such as sales workers targeting higher goals to increase productivity, and students learning from each other in supportive environments. While some arguments are slightly repetitive, the main tenets of the prompt are covered adequately. For instance, the writer notes that 'competition can motivate people to improve their performance' and contrasts this with the view that 'cooperating can create a more supportive and productive environment.' The position is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear progression of ideas across four paragraphs. The introduction outlines the structure of the essay, followed by two body paragraphs debating the respective views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices and transition markers such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, paragraphing and referencing occasionally suffer from mechanical faults and run-on sentences, such as 'when student compete with their classmate they study harder try to achieve better grades' and 'when people working together they can share their knowledge'. These comma splices and minor cohesion issues keep the score at Band 6, as organization is present but sometimes faulty.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common items like 'ambitious', 'productivity', and 'supportive environment'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the writing, including 'indiviudals' instead of individuals, 'suitable thing weather it is at job' instead of whether it is at a job, 'benficial' for beneficial, 'coordinate' instead of cooperate, and 'cinfilct' for conflict. Despite these frequent slips, meaning remains largely clear and communication is not seriously impeded. The range of vocabulary is sufficient for basic communication, earning a solid Band 5.5 to 6.0, placed firmly at 5.0 due to the high density of basic spelling and grammatical lexical errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'when people working together they can share their knowledge and skills' and 'competition help people to achieve their aim however it can damage relationship'. Missing articles and incorrect verb forms also appear frequently, including 'encourage employee develop' instead of encouraging employees to develop, and 'a person who cooperate can successful easily' instead of successfully. These frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, matching the characteristics of Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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