Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-25

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, there is a contionous increase in competition amongst the individual at workplace or at school on daily basis of life so for that some people think it is a great thing,while other suggest that working environment should be more co-operative rather than competing against each other. So for both the views my opinion is discussed in further ensuing paragraph.

Many people think that being competitive with colleagues or classmates make people to work more efficiently and it also help them to give their full potential to achieve certain amount of tasks or achievements .For example a worker working in a company making 1000 pieces of product in one day and the other worker is producing 1100 pieces per day and company rule book said whoever make more product on daily basis would get more salary bonus. So due to this incentives a employee will work more effectively and on the other hand it will good for boss as huge amount of production is done in a day and it help him to reduce overall making cost.

On the other side of debate,individuals said that working environment should be more kind of being good and help each other rather than competing aggressively. Moreover, a good helping nature will help student to clear any kind of doubt easily without thinking that the other person would not help them,additionally a great helping surrounding would developed around them whcih will helpful for them in future.

In my opinion, helping eachother would be more beneficial for long term rather than being competitive with each other over a small incentives.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the views on competition and cooperation, and includes a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as the example of a manufacturing worker increasing output due to a bonus scheme, and the discussion of supportive learning environments for students. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and relies on basic generalization rather than deep exploration. The explanation of the competitive view is clear, but the cooperative viewpoint is slightly brief and repetitive. Overall, the task is adequately handled, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing opposing views, and a conclusion. However, logical progression is sometimes hindered by awkward transitions, such as 'So for both the views my opinion is discussed in further ensuing paragraph.' Cohesive devices are used, but they are occasionally mechanical or misused, as seen with 'On the other side of debate,individuals said'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of sentences creates run-on structures that make the flow less smooth. Referencing is mostly clear, though some pronouns lack precise antecedents. This places the cohesion at a Band 5.5 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey basic arguments about work and school. However, there are numerous word choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'contionous increase' instead of continuous increase, 'daily basis of life', and 'great helping surrounding'. Attempts to use less common vocabulary are often inaccurate, and spelling mistakes like 'whcih' and 'eachother' detract from the overall quality. While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of lexical errors limits the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'an employee' versus 'a employee', 'help them to give', and 'whoever make more product'. Run-on sentences and punctuation omissions are common throughout the text, as seen in the opening sentence. Although the meaning remains mostly clear despite these errors, the high frequency of basic grammatical inaccuracies prevents the essay from reaching Band 6.0, resulting in a Band 5.0.

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

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