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)

Competition in the workplace and at school is very common. some people beleive that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing while some people beleive that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. In my opinion, competition is really important at workplace and at school but in daily life we should cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.

On one hand, let's discuss about competiton in the workplace and at school. For example, If a person is freshly graduate and join a company for work, he set his goals what he want to do and he should start compete with others. When he start compete with others, he learns and grow fast. A person is influenced and gain experience from collegues.In schools, average students should compete with high-achieving students. By competing with other students, they can learn many different things, such as how successful students manage their studies and organise their time. As a result, average students may set higher goals for themselves and become motivated to improve their academic performance.

On the other hand, competition in daily life is not always a good thing because it can create stress, jealousy, and unnecessary pressure. Moreover, people may become so focused on winning that they forget to enjoy their personal lives and support others.

In conclusion, competition can have both positive and negative effects on people. It can motivate students and workers to improve their skills and achieve their goals. However, excessive competition can cause stress and affect relationships. Therefore, competition is beneficial when it encourages healthy improvement rather than creating unnecessary pressure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You give a clear opinion: competition is valuable at work and school, while cooperation is preferable in daily life. The workplace and school examples are relevant, especially the point that students can learn study habits from high achievers. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and cooperation is only briefly mentioned rather than explained with a reason or example; the conclusion also returns mainly to the benefits and harms of competition. This leaves the response only partially developed. The response is 239 words, so it is 11 words below the 250-word minimum; the 35 words copied from the prompt are not included in that count. Develop the cooperation argument and support it with a specific example to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs signposted by “On one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This makes the main direction easy to follow. The first body paragraph also progresses from workplace competition to its possible benefits and then to school. However, the discussion is unbalanced, and the second body paragraph is much shorter, so the overall progression does not fully develop both sides. Some linking is mechanical, particularly the repeated “On one hand” and “On the other hand” pattern, while “Moreover” and “As a result” are used appropriately. Build a fuller cooperation paragraph and connect its ideas with clearer cause-and-effect links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “motivated,” “academic performance,” and “unnecessary pressure.” Phrases such as “healthy improvement” also help express your position. However, the range is limited in places, and several spelling or word-choice errors reduce accuracy: “beleive,” “competiton,” and “collegues” are noticeable, while “freshly graduate” and “start compete” are not natural expressions. Repetition of “competition” and “compete” also makes the discussion less flexible. Aim to use accurate collocations and vary key terms—for example, refer to “professional development” or “collaborative effort” where appropriate. Proofreading spelling and checking phrases in context would make your vocabulary more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more developed sentences, and several are clear, such as “Moreover, people may become so focused on winning that they forget to enjoy their personal lives and support others.” The conclusion also uses a clear contrast with “However.” However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur often enough to affect accuracy. For example, “he set his goals what he want to do” needs a clearer clause and consistent verb forms, and “When he start compete with others, he learns and grow fast” contains several errors in one sentence. Capitalisation after full stops is also inconsistent. Practise forming accurate past or present-tense examples and use a wider range of complex structures only when you can control their grammar.

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