Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-27
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)
It is often argued thaat competition at work place or schools and in everyday lives is a great thing, while others believe that rather than considering other person a competition, one should cooperate more. I believe that people succeed when they help each other out and does not consider the other person their competition.
On the one hand, competition can be beneficial because lots of people find motivation to do work or study if they consider someone as their competiton. Moreover,several indiviuals consider it a way of keep going. In school life, parents compare their children which eventually build a pressure on a child to do better.
On the other hand, other people believe that instead of considering each others competition, things could be made easier if they try to cooperate and help each other out. Competition builds a sense of jealousy in a person. The person who competes feels completely lost and thinks only about winning from the other person.Through cooperation, whether students in school or people working in offices could make things easier.
In conclusion, a person should consider himself their competition instead of any other inividual. This would help person in all ways of growth.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response attempts to discuss both views regarding competition and cooperation, and gives a personal opinion in the introduction. However, the ideas are underdeveloped and lack sufficient supporting examples. Furthermore, the text falls significantly short of the 250-word minimum, containing only 198 words. This under-length impacts the overall development of the task. While the writer addresses the prompt partially, the brevity prevents a fully extended discussion as expected at higher bands. Therefore, the task achievement is limited by the word count and lack of depth, aligning with a Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs discussing each perspective, and a conclusion. Logical progression is attempted, using basic cohesive markers such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, and the paragraphing and flow feel somewhat mechanical. For instance, the transition between ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. Overall, the organizational structure is discernible, which places it at a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting words like 'motivation', 'jealousy', and 'cooperate'. However, there are notable spelling errors, such as 'thaat' for 'that', 'work place' instead of 'workplace', and 'indiviuals' instead of 'individuals'. Word choice is sometimes repetitive or slightly unnatural, such as 'consider the other person their competition'. The lexical adequacy is sufficient for basic communication, but errors in spelling and collocation keep the score at a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional and relative-like constructions. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'one should cooperate more... and does not consider' and 'This would help person in all ways'. Punctuation and spacing errors are also present. These errors occasionally distract the reader, though they do not completely impede communication. This performance reflects the descriptors for Band 5.5.
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.