Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-26
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)
Competition at school is beneficial for children to motivate them in studies. In my view, competition at school is effective but not at work because everyone has different kind of skills. In practical life, we should have to compare individuals with each other.
Competition help students to develop stamina to compete with other students e.g. in sports and studies. It has a power to motivate them and encourage them to compete with others. In my opinion, there would be no competition in practical life because at work every employ have different work to do. However, competiton in student life is a good thing but not in daily life. Other believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. I agreed with them but just in practical life. Nowadays, everyone has a lot of responsibilities but i think there would be no competition between them. In professional life, individuals should have to cooperate with each other. Moreover, students have to compete with each other if they have to catch their dreams and for become successful. Because students have their goals to achieve. Therefore, competiton is effective just for student life.
In conclusion, competiton is essential for students to motivate them in studies. It has a power to develop a strong stamina in children to achieve their goals. But in practical life, there should not have competiton between individuals. Because in professional life, everyone has different kind of skill and have distinct responsibilities. That's why competition is not a good thing in practical life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt regarding competition in school versus cooperation in daily and professional life, and provides a clear position. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the student states that 'competition at school is beneficial for children to motivate them in studies,' but this point is reiterated several times across paragraphs rather than extended with fresh arguments or deep elaboration. Similarly, the discussion on professional life lacks detailed examples, relying on general statements like 'everyone has different kind of skills.' To achieve a higher band, the ideas need more robust expansion and varied supporting evidence.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay has a basic structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, and it attempts to guide the reader using cohesive devices such as 'However,' 'Moreover,' and 'In conclusion.' Nevertheless, referencing and logical progression are occasionally faulty. For example, the sentence 'Other believe that we should try to cooperate more...' introduces the counter-argument abruptly without smooth integration. Paragraphing is also somewhat disjointed, with ideas about school and work blended together in the middle section rather than separated into distinct thematic blocks. Cohesion feels mechanical at times, placing this firmly in the mid-band range.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary to communicate simple and complex ideas, such as 'beneficial,' 'professional life,' 'responsibilities,' and 'essential.' However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the writing, including 'employ' instead of 'employee,' 'competiton' spelled incorrectly multiple times, and awkward phrasing such as 'distinct responsibilities.' Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success and some lack of precision. Overall, the lexical range is minimally sufficient for the task, resulting in a band 5.5 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('everyone has a lot of responsibilities but i think there would be no competition'), incorrect prepositional usage ('compete with each other if they have to catch their dreams and for become successful'), and missing auxiliary verbs ('everyone has different kind of skill and have distinct responsibilities'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with high frequency and prevent the text from reaching a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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