Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-28
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)
If is often argued that a sense of competition among students, employees and social members is a positive behaviour. Others regard competition as a negative development and there should be cooperation among the people. Although competition generates personal upliftment, I agree that there should be cooperation within the institution or society.
On the one hand, prioritizing cooperation among the members support the shared responsibilities and objectives of the organization. For instance, an organization has goals and plans to be fulfilled. If there is an equal participation among all the workers, members of school, and community, then the targets can be met effectively bacause of shared participation, ideas, and opinions. Cooperation can be a positive development due to the mixed ideas from people of several department to meet common goals. Furthermore, people who participate in cooperation can develop successful ideas, opinions, organizations and societies as a whole.
On the other hand, providing more importance to competition enhance the personal growth of the students and employees. For example, in schools and in companies, there is a race to be a topper and a top employee. While this competition can hone the skills and promotes hard work for the personal development, the organization cannot benefit from the competition alone. The organization should promote cooperation and a little competition for the overall growth of the students and employees and organization altogether.
In conclusion, there should be more cooperation than competition at workplace, at school and in daily regular life because shared cooperation can help to fulfill the goals and objectives of an organization, and included views, and ideas promotes the development of personal growth and societal growth as a whole.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on competition and cooperation and clearly stating a personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported with explanations, such as how shared participation helps meet organizational goals or how competition enhances personal growth. However, some arguments tend to be slightly repetitive and could be extended with more specific examples. For instance, the discussion on cooperation relies on general statements about meetings and goals rather than concrete instances. Nevertheless, the position is clear throughout, and the task requirements are properly fulfilled, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from introduction to body paragraphs and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct paragraphs dedicated to cooperation and competition respectively. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore' are employed to guide the reader through the text, though some referencing is occasionally mechanical or repetitive (e.g., repeating similar structures for transitions). Overall, the organizational structure is clear and easy to follow, supporting a solid Band 6.0 performance.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'upliftment', 'shared responsibilities', and 'personal development'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'social members' instead of members of society, 'bacause' due to a spelling error, and 'daily regular life'. Vocabulary control is sometimes restricted, but communication is not impeded by these lexical slips, making this a clear Band 6.0 level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional and subordinate clauses such as 'If there is an equal participation...' and 'While this competition can hone the skills...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'If is often argued' (typographical error), 'support the shared responsibilities' (subject-verb agreement), 'an equal participation' (article misuse with uncountable/abstract nouns), and 'included views' instead of inclusive views. While these errors are noticeable and require some re-reading, they do not severely impede overall communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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