Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20
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)
Unquestionably, every coin has two sides and so are the people. Society's people are divided into two groups and therefore, some people believe that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing while other believe it as bad thing has become a topic of debate among people. This essay will compare and contrast both of views along with my opinion which is in the favour of the former view will be discussed in a sensible conclusion.
Initiating with the points supporting first school of thought, firstly, competition at different stage of our lives make us hardworking which create oppurtunity to improve ourselves and to achieve great result . If someone keeps working, they will eventually gets the result they want in life. The people who support this say that it grow level of creativeness in one's life through different challenges in different stages of life. As a result, people can get sucess and also raise their living standard.
On its contrasting side, people who held another point say that it will create stress and eventually affect their mental health. They believe that people need to cooperate more so they can help each other when the problem arise during study, work or in daily life. As a consequence, people have healthy study and working environment without any stress.
To conclude, I would like to say that competition at work, at school and in daily life is good thing. However, it will depend upon the mindsets of the people that which view they are in favour of.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation, and the writer provides a clear position in favour of competition. Ideas are presented, such as how competition fosters hard work and creativity, while the opposing view mentions stress and mental health benefits of cooperation. However, these ideas are somewhat under-developed and lack extended specific examples. The introduction also contains some awkward phrasing ('so are the people'). Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing this response at Band 6.0 according to the descriptors where relevant ideas are present but require further extension and depth.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs addressing each side of the argument, and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'Initiating with', 'On its contrasting side', and 'To conclude' are used to structure the text, although some feel slightly mechanical or non-standard. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the differing viewpoints. Referencing and cohesive devices generally keep the text readable, though progression between sentences can occasionally feel abrupt. This fits the Band 6.0 profile well, where arrangement is coherent and cohesion is present, though sometimes faulty or mechanical.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'sensible conclusion', 'creativeness', and 'contrasting side'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'so are the people', 'grow level of creativeness' instead of 'increases levels of creativity', and 'success' spelled as 'sucess'. Vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning, but errors in word formation and spelling occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band, placing the lexical control squarely at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'If someone keeps working, they will eventually gets the result they want in life.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward agreements throughout the essay, including 'other believe it as bad thing', 'oppurtunity', 'eventually gets' (subject-verb agreement), and 'both of views'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to detract from grammatical control. This aligns with Band 5.0, where attempts at complex sentences are often faulty and frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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