Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-03

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)

Nowadays people were like to take challenges in their life and they really enjoys that but, sometimes it create a huge affect in their life it beging problemetic.

Competition in some places have a benefits such as, In school a student is giving his examination and he compare hisself with anther student than in this way he is competing for his advantage as well as for his bright future. If we compare with other in such a condition we work hard to achieve our desire result and kept pushing ourself to achieve that possition that we want. For example, A corporate worker who want promotion in his company then he work so hard for this opportunity and break his all limits and boundry for his victory.

In other hand there are so many people who compare theirselves in each and every condition and in every ocation. For example, There is a person who is obsessed to coping others in every thing they do. If their friend or a relative buy a new car then she also buy a same car and same item that other buys. Although she has a car but she want that exact same car just because her friend buy it. This type of competition is totelly wrong and at the end they keep doing such a sily things.

In conclution, I would say comparing ourself for our advantage that is good but in other things competition is not good. Even i use to compare myself with other for study, that is helpful but in small things competition is not that beneficial.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation, along with a personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is limited and sometimes confused. For example, while the writer mentions the benefits of school and corporate competition, the explanation relies on basic examples like 'a corporate worker who want promotion'. Furthermore, the shift in the third paragraph to discussing an obsession with copying friends' cars misinterprets the broader societal concept of cooperation, treating it instead as mindless imitation. This results in a partial address of the task where ideas are under-developed and lack extension. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to explore more relevant and substantive arguments regarding cooperation in daily life or work, ensuring that each viewpoint is fully elaborated with clear, logical reasoning.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the essay, with distinct paragraphs attempting to address different parts of the prompt, such as the introduction of competition, its benefits, and the alternative view. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the logical links between ideas are frequently weak. Cohesive devices are often inadequate or repetitive, seen in transitional phrases like 'In other hand' and 'In conclution'. Referencing and pronouns are also mishandled at times, such as the unclear shift in subject pronouns when discussing the friend buying a car. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks smooth transitions. To achieve higher bands, the writer must ensure a more natural flow of ideas, use a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices, and maintain consistent logical progression throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'obsessed' and 'opportunity', but these attempts are marred by noticeable errors in word choice, form, and spelling, such as 'problemetic', 'desire' instead of 'desired', 'totelly', and 'sily'. There is also a heavy reliance on repetitive phrasing like 'compare ourself' and 'competition'. These lexical shortcomings occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. To improve lexical resource, the writer needs to expand their vocabulary range, pay closer attention to word forms and collocations, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes to ensure smoother communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by basic conjunctions. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to run-on structures and frequent grammatical errors. There are persistent errors in verb forms, tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and articles, such as 'Nowadays people were like to take challenges', 'a student is giving his examination and he compare hisself', and 'Even i use to compare'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To progress to a higher band, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence forms with good control and drastically reduce grammatical errors across basic and advanced structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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