Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. O thers believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. First of all the healthy competition is very important for to be a successful person in life. In the school time we use to have so many competitions like morning quiz and then we have debate competition. Also there was singing and dancing competition then there was sports activities. We were taught to be becoming number one in all activtities in school time. But also we were taught to accept defeat in competitions and be kind to others.
In my opinion failure is not the end of goals in life but is the path of success and progress in life. The competition in daily life gives you motive and money in life because you have worked so hard to get in the competition. Also competition teaches you to be smart and work hard in life. It also teaches you to be in discipline.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 250 words, containing only 176 words. Consequently, the task cannot be fully developed. Furthermore, the prompt asks to 'Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.' While the student touches on competition and mentions school and daily life experiences, the alternative view—cooperation—is entirely neglected in the text. There is no discussion on why we should cooperate more. The student offers a personal opinion regarding failure and competition, but the lack of balanced coverage of both views severely limits Task Achievement. According to the descriptors for Band 4, the response touches upon the task only minimally, as one of the core prompt requirements (discussing cooperation) is completely omitted, and the length penalty applies.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text demonstrates a basic level of organisation, attempting to separate ideas into two paragraphs. However, paragraphing is not used sufficiently and appropriately, given the short length and lack of structured discourse. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple connectors like 'First of all', 'Also', and 'And then'. The progression of ideas is hindered by abrupt transitions and a lack of clear referencing, making the logical flow somewhat disjointed. While the overall arrangement is marginally coherent enough to follow the writer's personal train of thought, the mechanical use of cohesive ties and poor paragraph structuring align best with Band 5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, featuring frequent reliance on everyday terms such as 'good thing', 'successful person', and 'life'. The student attempts some less common phrasing like 'healthy competition' and 'accept defeat', but word choice and collocation are often awkward, such as 'for to be a successful person' or 'In the school time'. There are also lexical errors and awkward formations like 'activtities'. Because the vocabulary range is limited and frequently repetitive, with noticeable errors that restrict the precision of the argument, the writing fits the Band 5 profile for Lexical Resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and moderately complex sentence forms, such as 'In my opinion failure is not the end of goals in life but is the path of success'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, marred by frequent errors including preposition misuse ('in the school time', 'on work'), awkward infinitive structures ('for to be'), and tense inconsistency ('we use to have'). Punctuation is also sparse and sometimes faulty. Although the meaning can generally be deciphered despite the errors, the high frequency of structural slips means the majority of sentences are not error-free, pointing clearly to a Band 5 performance.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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