Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-07

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)

There is an ongoing debate over whether there should be competition at work, school and daily life for improvent or whether cooperation must be focused rather than competing against each other. Both of these perspectives have some validity, while this essay will examine both of these perspectives before explaining why I believe it is more fruitful if we cooperate because it can offer several benefits to an individual as well as an organization.

To begin with, a healthy competition can bring improvement. Every human being is competitive. Being in a competition makes people enhance their capacity as well as people can increase their accuracy in every work. Although the people of this generation hates competition, it has helped in uplifting of work rate of many people. Competition can promise success. For instance, if there is a healthy competition among colleagues then there is more possibility of improvement, prosperity and collaboration. This result in overall development of an organization. The feeling of competition can bring positivity around people.

Eventhough competiton in daily life is good thing, it is more important to have cooperation for prioritizing kindness, enjoyment, satisfaction and success. Cooperation can bring positivity around people. Collaboration can reduce work pressure, stresses and negativity. Cooperating with different people makes people learn and experience help, generosity and teamwork. It increases productivity and focuses on personal growth as well as organizational growth. For example, collaboration makes people overcome difficulties. This can lead an organization to growth, prosperity and positivity.

In my opinion, I think cooperation is more significant for an individual than feeling of competition. A sense of jealousy can arise if competition goes wrong. But cooperation can build a team who work for success as well as work life balance. In conclusion, even though the competition makes people motivated, the collaboration builds feeling of brotherhood and brings positivity around a team which eventually leads to success. Furthermore, cooperation reduces risks and problems.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear preference for cooperation, especially in the introduction and the paragraph beginning “In my opinion.” The points about competition motivating improvement and cooperation reducing pressure are relevant to the question. However, several claims remain general: for example, “Competition can promise success” is not explained, and the example about colleagues does not show specifically how competition leads to collaboration. The cooperation paragraph also lists benefits such as kindness, satisfaction and productivity without developing one in detail. To strengthen the response, explain the cause-and-effect behind each main point and use a specific example, while keeping your position consistent and clearly linked to the discussion throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph for each view, and a conclusion that restates your preference. Linking expressions such as “To begin with,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “Although the people of this generation hates competition” does not clearly connect to the preceding point, and “This result in overall development” has an unclear reference to what “This” means. Repetition of “positivity,” “growth” and “prosperity” also limits progression. Use more precise referencing and make each sentence develop the previous idea, rather than adding another general benefit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “collaboration,” “productivity” and “work-life balance,” so the main ideas are understandable. There are also attempts at less common expressions, such as “prioritizing kindness” and “organizational growth.” However, word choice and collocation are sometimes inaccurate or repetitive: “competition can promise success” and “learn and experience help” sound unnatural, while “positivity” and “growth” recur frequently. Spelling errors such as “improvent,” “Eventhough” and “competiton” are noticeable. Build a more precise range by learning common word partnerships and checking spelling; for example, describe competition as “encouraging higher performance” rather than promising success.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession clause beginning “Although” and a conditional example beginning “if there is a healthy competition.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction occur in several places. For example, “the people of this generation hates” should have a plural verb, and “This result in” needs a matching verb form. The opening sentence is also difficult to control because it combines two alternatives with “whether” and then adds a long explanation. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and article use, and divide complex ideas into shorter, complete sentences. This will make your range more accurate and easier to follow.

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