Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Nowadays some people think that competition in several areas, such as the workplace, schools and everyday life is beneficial, while others argue that individuals should cooperate rather than compete with each other . I strongly believe that cooperation is more beneficial because it encourages people to achieve common goals and support one another.

On the one hand, competition persuades people to complete harder tasks as a result to get higher ranks. To achieve better grades at school level students tend to struggle in order to pass exams with more marks. At workplaces employees show good performances so that they can promote themselves and may enhace their salaries. Furthermore, people can improve skills because of the competition and can left people behind. Companies manufacture goods with top quality and make them capable to remain at the top level. For example, students may study harder when they compete with their classmates for higher grades.

On the other hand, with the help of cooperation people can share their skills and knowledge and can achieve common goals. It has also a lot of other benefits, by cooperation people can do lengthy tasks in a while and also solve difficult issues by dicussing it with each other. People may also share their thoughts on particular subjects like maths, physics and chemistry. Work is divided due to cooperation everyone has their own responsibilities and schedule to follow. For instance, if a student is unable to solve out a demanding problem of physics so he may ask for his fellows to help him in correspondence to solve it.

In conclusion, competing with others is the source of motivation and encouragement but in other words cooperation is far better than it. I strongly believe that cooperation helps us too much in every aspect of life because a lonely person is of no use.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the views on competition and cooperation while also presenting a clear personal position throughout the essay. In the introduction, the writer clearly states their stance in favour of cooperation. Both body paragraphs explore the respective viewpoints adequately, offering arguments and examples, such as students competing for grades and employees striving for promotions or collaborating to solve physics problems. However, some ideas tend towards over-generalisation or are slightly under-developed, particularly the brief concluding remarks on cooperation. Overall, the task is fulfilled to a standard consistent with Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7 given the clear position and relevant supporting points provided throughout the piece.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a clear overall logical organisation and progression. The response is divided into four distinct paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs representing each view, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions between ideas, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, some referencing is not always clear and a few cohesive links are somewhat mechanical or awkward, such as 'in other words cooperation is far better than it'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments, yet the internal flow of sentences occasionally suffers from awkward phrasing, restricting the cohesion to a solid Band 6 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'workplace', 'employees', 'manufacture goods', and 'common goals'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, but these are sometimes accompanied by inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as 'enhace their salaries', 'can left people behind', and 'solve out a demanding problem'. Spelling is generally accurate, but awkward phrasing and unnatural lexical collocations appear at intervals. While communication is never impeded, these limitations place the lexical resource firmly within the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar with structures such as 'Nowadays some people think that... while others argue that...'. However, there is a noticeable presence of grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including 'at school level students tend to struggle', 'by cooperation people can do', and 'in correspondence to solve it'. Punctuation errors are also present, such as spacing issues before commas and full stops. Although these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 7, making Band 6 a fair and accurate reflection of the student's control.

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