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)

Some individuals believe that competition at workplaces, educational institutions and in daily life is beneficial. Others argue that people must cooperate with each other rather than competing. This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why i agree with the former opinion.

To begin with, competition plays an important role in people's lives. It can motivate individuals to improve their performance. When people see others achieving their goals and targets, they may feel encouraged to work harder to reach at similiar level. For instance, at schools a student can achieve their desired results by encouraging from peers. Consequently, healthy competition can help to motivate person to set targets and improve their productivity.

On the other hand, cooperation among people is second major area to keep eye on achieving desired common goals. By working together, individuals can share their knowledge, skills, ideas which will not only helps them to boarden the horizon of their knowledge but also helps them to solve the problem effectively. To examplify, in organisation if employees will cooperate with each other can divide tasks and responsibility mutually and complete project successfully. Therefore, cooperation can maintain supportive environment which leads to better collective results.

To conclude, both viewpoints are valid to a certain extent. Niether competition nor cooperation should be completely overlooked. However, I believe that healthy competition is important in everyday life for accomplishment of goals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation before clearly stating their personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant, such as motivation from competition and knowledge sharing through cooperation. However, some arguments are underdeveloped and rely on over-generalisations without fully fleshing out the examples. For instance, the point about schools states 'a student can achieve their desired results by encouraging from peers', which is slightly unclear. Additionally, the essay contains 229 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 250 words. This under-length issue directly impacts the level of idea development, leading to a band score of 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay presents a clear overall arrangement with a traditional four-paragraph structure comprising an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. There is a logical progression of ideas moving from the benefits of competition to the advantages of cooperation. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'To begin with', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in minor awkwardness in transitions. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but the overall lack of depth limits the cohesion score to a solid 6.0 band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'educational institutions', 'beneficial', 'productivity', and 'supportive environment'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, but also noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'reach at similiar level' instead of 'reach a similar level', 'encouraging from peers' instead of 'encouragement from peers', and 'boarden the horizon' instead of 'broaden the horizon'. Spelling is generally accurate, but these lexical inaccuracies place the response firmly in the band 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar with structures like 'When people see others achieving their goals...'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ('at workplaces' instead of 'in the workplace', 'at schools' instead of 'at school'), preposition errors ('reach at' instead of 'reach'), and subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'knowledge, skills, ideas which will not only helps'). There is also a spelling slip in the conclusion with 'Niether'. These errors occur with some frequency but rarely impede overall communication, supporting a 6.0 band score.

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