Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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)

There is an ongoing debate regarding competition at workplace, at educational faculties and in day to day life. A group of individuals believe that the compettion is a good thing. However, others argue that individuals should learn to cooperate more rather than competing. Therefore, ahead of my opinion, both views will be discussed.

Examining the fomer opinion, the primary arguement the supporters would put forward is the comepition at work, at school and in daily life is good advantageous ragrading the fact that people will initiate to think of the task as a goal. This is because it creates a sense of objective that is to be completed as a priority. In addition, the sense of competition will create a actual humour which helps the individual to complete the provided task more delibirately.

On the contary, those in the favour of the latter opinion have their own arguements.To begin with, they claim that it may affect the individuals mentally. The particular reason for this is the sense of being a loser whenever one can't keep with the another person at workplace or a education faculty. Moreover, it creates a feeling of being under pressure when provided a task. For instance, when a teacher provides a certain deadline rather than an exact date, the students who wont be able to complete the task in time would always be under pressure.

To conclude and offer my position, there are convincing arguments both for and against the debate regarding competition at workplace, at educational sectors and in daily lives. However, I certainly favour the former opinion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—competition and cooperation—and provides a clear position in the introduction and conclusion, stating a preference for competition. Ideas are introduced, such as the psychological impact of losing and the motivational drive of deadlines, but they tend to be under-developed and lack extension. For instance, the argument regarding deadlines in the third paragraph is somewhat confusing and does not strongly support the premise about pressure. While the prompt is adequately covered, the supporting arguments require greater depth and clearer examples to reach a higher band level, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall structure with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are present, such as 'Examining the fomer opinion', 'On the contary', and 'To conclude and offer my position', which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and transitions are at times mechanical or awkward, and some phrases like 'ahead of my opinion' are unnatural. The logical progression is generally maintained, but the mechanical nature of the cohesive links places this response firmly in Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'advantageous', 'delibirately', and 'psychologically'. However, there are numerous spelling errors ('compettion', 'fomer', 'arguement', 'comepition', 'ragrading', 'contary', 'wont') and awkward word choices ('actual humour', 'educational faculties' instead of 'educational institutions'). These lexical inaccuracies occasionally distract the reader, though they do not completely impede communication. The control over word choice and spelling corresponds to a Band 5.5 or 6, and given the frequency of minor errors, Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and word forms, such as 'at workplace' instead of 'at the workplace', 'in day to day life', and 'another person at workplace or a education faculty'. Furthermore, awkward phrasing like 'the students who wont be able to complete the task' detracts from the fluency of complex structures. While communication remains clear, the density of minor grammatical slips prevents the score from reaching a Band 6.

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