Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
Competiting at work, school and in daily life is sort of a good thing in some ways like if you're at work when you see some is more competent than you then you try to work hard to beat that person and win but on the other hand If someone needs your help for their wok and you think if i help this person i might loose so if someone takes competition in that way so this is wrong and same goes for school and daily life also like school children they are so small and they are taking competitions so much serious that they are not helping their friends and in daily life also. If I have to give my opinion on this topic I would like to say that yeah competition is good till when you're taking in a positive way in life sometimes you have to cooperate with people you have to help them because that's humanity in my life's experience when i was a child I used to take competitions very seriously i had to take ist position in my class but i also helped my classmates with their studies and home works also and also in my professional life i never said anyone that I'll not help you but yes I compete my colleagues and gave my best and in my daily life I only complete my self that what I did today i have to do more tomorrow so in my opinion competitions are good when you take in a positive way.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the view that competition is beneficial and the view that cooperation should be prioritized, while also providing a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited and relies heavily on a single continuous paragraph containing a personal anecdote rather than fully extended academic arguments. The position is clear, stating that competition is good when approached positively alongside cooperation, but the support tends to over-generalise and lacks formal academic elaboration. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The entire essay is written as one single block of text without paragraph breaks, which severely limits structural coherence and progression. While some basic cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "on the other hand", "and same goes for school", and "if I have to give my opinion", the lack of paragraphing creates a run-on structure that makes the logical development difficult to follow. Referencing is also repetitive and mechanical at times. This reflects the characteristics of Band 4, where information and ideas are not arranged coherently into paragraphs.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, featuring everyday phrases such as "competiting at work", "good thing", "take competitions very seriously", and "positive way". There are spelling errors, such as "competiting" and "loos" (implied as loose/lose), along with awkward phrasing like "complete my self". The lexical range is minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate their basic message, but the frequent repetition and lack of less common lexical items place this firmly at Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The response consists almost entirely of a single, extremely long, multi-clausal sentence joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and" and conditional phrases like "if... then". There is a complete absence of punctuation such as full stops to demarcate sentences. While the writer attempts complex structures, they are largely run-on and faulty due to poor punctuation and grammar control. Frequent errors in sentence boundary demarcation cause significant difficulty for the reader, matching the criteria for Band 4.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.