Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21

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)

Everyone is becoming aware that population on our Earth is rapidly increasing leading to excessive competition. It exists everywhere- school, work and even our day to day life. Some people might perceive it as a motivation to compete against each other while for others it becomes a burden leading to several health and mental issues as well. Some might suggest to cooperate more and change our perspective towards it. However, neglecting the sufferer isn't an option.

First of all, people can make sure that they are responsible in the way they perceive competition. Taking it as a motivation might be an overindulgent burden to his/her peers. If people start communicating openly and considering how their collegues, friends or peers perceive competition, it might help them look at it differently and change their mindset. It is also important to make sure youngsters and new adults are given more exposure to this because there have been rising cases of students and teenagers being sucidal due to enormous competition.

On the other hand, "excellence can't be achieved by being in our comfort zones", is what some people might believe in. Whether or not it is true, they look at competition as an opportunity to prove themselves, moreover put others down. Doesn't matter if it's school, work-place or daily life, indivuals thrive to succeed in every aspect causing unnecessary pressure on their ownselves as well as people surrounding them.

Finally, the most important thing that indivuals can do is to let their ownself know that succeeding by depriving others of a peaceful mind isn't worth it. It is clear that perceiving competition as motivation or ignoring the fact and cooperating more is our own choice.

Therefore it is clear that this choice depends and differs from person to person but it is advised not to harm ourselves to overachieve, otherwise it will soo be too late, and we and our next generation will suffer serious consequences.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views regarding competition and cooperation, and presents a personal opinion, satisfying the core requirements of the prompt. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and occasionally shifts focus. For instance, the first body paragraph touches on communication and youth mental health, but the logical link to the broader debate between competition and cooperation is slightly disjointed. Furthermore, the final conclusion reiterates the personal choice without fully synthesizing the arguments presented earlier. While the position is clear, the depth of extension places this response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement, and paragraphing is utilized to separate introduction, body points, and conclusion. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical. Words like 'Finally' and 'Therefore' are used, but transitional links between sentences within paragraphs can be abrupt. For example, the transition from discussing overindulgent burdens to youth exposure feels sudden. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'change our perspective towards it,' where the antecedent for 'it' is slightly ambiguous. Overall, the organizational structure meets the criteria for Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating terms such as 'rapidly increasing,' 'overindulgent,' and 'perspective.' There are attempts at less common lexical items, but some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation are apparent, such as 'sucidal' (spelling error for 'suicidal'), 'collegues' (spelling error for 'colleagues'), and 'indivuals' (spelling error for 'individuals'). The phrase 'put others down' is somewhat informal for an Academic task. While these errors do not seriously impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures (e.g., 'If people start communicating openly...'). There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text. Examples include pronoun agreement issues ('his/her peers' referring back to singular 'people'), missing articles ('school, work-place'), and awkward phrasing such as 'let their ownself know.' Sentences like 'Doesn't matter if it's school, work-place or daily life...' lack a subject. These errors occur with some frequency but rarely impede the overall communication of ideas, aligning with Band 6.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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