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)

Competition is a myth in people's minds because it gives motivation to face challenges. Numerous people think that competition at the workplace, at educational institutes, and in the daily routine of life is a beneficial thing. While others argue that we should try to struggle more instead of racing against one another. In my opinion, both views have logical points because some individuals can compete to complete a task, while some cannot compete because they do not have the ability to compete, so they can struggle to achieve challenges.

Firstly, competition at work, at academic institutes, or in daily life is a beneficial thing because competitors can easily complete their work on time. Furthermore, it gives a comfortable zone to reach a successful point. In addition, individuals can gain huge amounts of knowledge from different platforms when they are in a competitive phase. For instance, when some groups get the chance to achieve their goals, they try to search for solutions to solve their tasks. They seek worldwide knowledge, and they can also easily spend their days with good manners.

Secondly, half of the individuals say that they should try to work hard because they do not want to compete with each other due to some reasons. Moreover, they do not have enough stamina to compete because competition can lead to stress. In addition, it can disturb mental health because sometimes people cannot be active all the time. They can work hard and achieve their desires without losing their confidence.

To sum up, competition is a beneficial indicator to enhance cognitive abilities or achieve good grades within a specific time, but we should try to follow those pathways that can help us achieve our desires without disrupting our mental health

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on competition versus cooperation and providing a clear personal opinion. The writer establishes a position in the introduction and maintains it throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas lacks depth and nuance in places. For example, the explanation of why people choose cooperation is somewhat repetitive, stating that they 'do not have enough stamina' or 'stamina to compete' without fully exploring the broader psychological or sociological benefits of cooperation. Furthermore, some arguments rely on vague assertions rather than well-supported extensions. Overall, the prompt is adequately addressed, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0 according to the task response descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion appropriately. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions, such as 'Firstly', 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'Secondly'. However, the use of these cohesive markers can feel mechanical and repetitive, and referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the pronoun shifts in the second body paragraph. Progression is present, but logical connections between sentences occasionally falter, such as the abrupt transition regarding 'good manners' in the first body paragraph. These features align well with the Band 6 descriptor for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'cognitive abilities', 'educational institutes', and 'successful point'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, the phrase 'competition is a myth in people's minds' does not fit the context naturally, and 'struggle more instead of racing' is somewhat awkward when contrasting with cooperation. There are also repetitive lexical choices, such as the frequent use of 'compete' and 'competition'. While communication is not impeded, the frequent lexical errors and limited control over less common vocabulary restrict the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'when some groups get the chance to achieve their goals, they try to search for solutions'. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text, including 'because it gives motivation to face challenges' and 'half of the individuals say that they should try to work hard'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent errors in sentence structure and grammatical awkwardness occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing this criterion at a Band 5.5.

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