Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02

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 whether people should compete with one another in every stage of life or whether they should help each other to achieve good things in life. However, both of these viewpoints have some advantages and disadvantages. I strongly believe that cooperation is the key to earning something better.

Firstly, we all know that people can't live alone. They need to stay in a society where they can talk, work or do a variety of other activities with different kind of people. If the society faces a problem, then one individual can't solve it alone or it will get arduous for him. Collaboration with other people makes that issue easier and opens a place for improvements. For example, we are all aware of the bad effect of air pollution and want to improve the situation. But is it possible through one person's action? It definitely not possible. For that, collaboration with others needed. Also at work or in school people who work together are often seen to achieve the result faster than any individual person does. And through collaboration people can share their thoughts and skills with one another which is also helpful for individual growth.

In contrast, competition may be beneficial for the individual growth but sometimes it creates a toxic environment. Especially in working environment where a company's growth depends, if people try to compete with each other and don't share information among themselves, that company may suffer from late outcome.

In conclusion, though competition among school children sometimes brings better individual results, cooperation teaches them how to improve their manners around people and cope up with daily life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the views on competition and cooperation, while also presenting a clear personal opinion. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, which keeps the response at this level. For instance, the discussion on air pollution is relevant, but it lacks sufficient extension and detailed support. The body paragraphs tend to generalize statements without fully exploring the implications of workplace and school competition. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to provide more fully elaborated arguments and concrete examples that thoroughly explain both sides before defending the chosen stance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical organization to the essay, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, the overall progression is sometimes hindered by abrupt transitions and repetitive cohesive devices, such as the frequent reliance on 'also' and 'and'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks seamless flow; for example, the conclusion introduces new thoughts about school children rather than summarizing the main body points effectively. To improve, the writer should employ a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices and ensure that each paragraph builds logically upon the previous one without disjointed shifts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common words such as 'arduous' and 'collaboration'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'earning something better', 'different kind of people', and 'late outcome'. These inaccuracies reflect a limited lexical range and occasionally cause slight hesitation for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to incorporate a wider variety of precise, natural vocabulary and demonstrate better control over collocation and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text displays a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside some attempts at complex forms that are often faulty, such as in the conditional and relative clauses. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including missing articles ('For that, collaboration with others needed'), verb tense and agreement issues ('It definitely not possible'), and incorrect prepositions or phrasing ('cope up with'). These errors can cause difficulty and require the reader to re-read certain parts. To progress, the writer must focus on producing a higher proportion of error-free sentences and mastering complex grammatical patterns.

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