Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

On competition at work,school and in daily life people may are divided on opinions.Some thinks that its beneficial for the human being to have a competiton in his life.They think having competition can make them reach their true potential.Although, the other part of the opinion is that the competition itself might harm the relation and environment.These people believe that we should try to cooperate more rather than working outshine others only.

In my opinion we as human beings should try work together and help each other push.Cause doing the work together can benefit both of them simultaneously.The reason might be that if one is trying to outwork other person he/she might hurt other persons work or try to get in their way.Doing work as a competition might be selfish and that is part of the 7 deadly sins.Competing with someone that you know might hurt your relationship with them too.And the last reason i would give is comparing kills the joy,comparing yourself with someone otherthan yourself is deadly for your mental health.

In my life there are alot of perfect examples that fits my opinion,e.g. when i was about 10 year old my parents use to compare me with the son of my uncle.This made my parents think that this comparing and competition is helping in my growth but quite the opposite.My mind was always accquired by the will to challenge my uncle's son.What this caused was the relation that i never had with my cousin.We never had a real conversation.Whenever my cousin did well on something it made depressed like i had lost a war or something.

Thats why this should never happened with anyone.Competiton may benefit someone for sometime but on the longrun its only downhil.So we should try cooperating rather than competiting and help push each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear preference for cooperation, especially in “we should try cooperating rather than competing.” The personal example about being compared with your cousin is relevant and helps explain the emotional cost of competition. However, the two sides are not developed equally: you mention that competition can help people reach their potential, but do not explain how this might benefit workplaces, schools, or daily life. Your argument for cooperation is more fully supported, though some claims—such as competition being part of the “7 deadly sins”—need clearer reasoning and a more formal explanation. To strengthen the response, develop a balanced benefit of competition before explaining why cooperation is preferable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a statement of opinion, a personal example, and a conclusion. The example follows logically from your concern that comparison can damage relationships, and phrases such as “In my life” signal a shift to supporting evidence. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several reasons are placed together without clear development. The opening also moves quickly from the two views to the opinion, while the conclusion repeats the preference without drawing the discussion together. Some linking expressions, including “And the last reason,” feel mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each reason to its explanation and example so the argument develops more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “true potential,” “cooperate,” “competition,” and “relationship,” and the personal example communicates your experience. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or informal, which sometimes makes the reader pause. For example, “help each other push” is unclear, “outwork other person” is not a natural expression in this context, and “on the longrun” is incorrectly formed. Spelling errors such as “competiton,” “acquired,” and “downhil” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise academic phrasing and check spelling and collocations carefully; this will make your ideas clearer without changing their meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “if one is trying to outwork other person…” and a relative clause in “the relation that I never had with my cousin.” However, some sentence structures are faulty, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and punctuation sometimes make the meaning less clear. Examples include “people may are divided,” “Some thinks,” “we should try work together,” and “This made my parents think … but quite the opposite,” where the contrast is not grammatically completed. Several sentences also run together without appropriate punctuation. Practise building accurate clauses first, then combine them with conjunctions; check subject–verb agreement and verb patterns such as “try to work.”

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