Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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)

During my time at high school, i had a friend who was the topper of my class. She got A in every subject and I always wonder and try to compete with her but couldn’t got more grades. Not I work at a company and there are alot of people that are above me in terms of grades and experience but I never felt this whole comparison thing because in my opinion I realise that the competition at work, or at school and in daily life is not a good thing. When we compare or compete others in our lives, we will not succeed in our goals. Through my past experiences I prefer not to compete with others in any phase of life, we should always try to cooperate more with others. This helps in understanding with each other.

Furthermore, in my opinion every single person is different from other in terms of their work, experiences and more. When people are at competition to one another they loose their senses because if someone plays cricket from childhood and other started to play just a month ago, obviously because of past experiences the first guy will do excellent from the other one. Other guy on the other hand is not a regular player will try to reach at that persons level and push there self more and more because of the competition thing.

That’s why I always prefer not to compete with others and try to cooperate more with the people working with me.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the prompt only partially. While the student attempts to discuss both views on competition versus cooperation and provides a personal opinion, the ideas are limited and under-developed. The discussion relies heavily on a single personal anecdote about a high school classmate and a cricket analogy rather than broader societal or workplace arguments. The position is stated, but the support lacks depth and extension, resulting in repetitive assertions that cooperation is always better without fully exploring the nuances of why some might favor competition. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to present fully developed arguments for both perspectives with clear, extended support rather than relying on brief, simplistic personal examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some basic organisation in the essay, featuring an introduction, a body paragraph focusing on the sports analogy, and a concluding sentence. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the paragraphing is underdeveloped, with the main body squashed into dense blocks. Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inaccurately, such as the abrupt transitions using 'Now I work at a company' or 'Furthermore'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making the logical link between sentences weak. To improve cohesion and logical flow, the writer should clearly separate distinct ideas into well-defined paragraphs and use a wider, more accurate range of linking words to guide the reader smoothly through the arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student relies on basic, repetitive terms such as 'good thing', 'competition', 'cooperate', and 'experience'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'the topper of my class', 'couldn’t got more grades', 'compare or compete others', and 'loose their senses' instead of lose focus or become frustrated. These inaccuracies sometimes cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their lexical range by incorporating less common vocabulary, precise collocations, and accurate word forms related to work, education, and social dynamics.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a very limited range of structures, consisting mostly of basic sentences alongside attempts at complex forms that are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('i had a friend... I always wonder'), subject-verb agreement issues, missing articles, and incorrect prepositions or verb patterns (e.g., 'try to reach at that persons level', 'push there self'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, with lowercase 'i' used repeatedly. These frequent errors can cause some difficulty and strain for the reader. To progress, the writer must work on mastering basic sentence structures, ensuring consistent verb tenses, and producing error-free complex sentences.

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