Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-08

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 are differing views on whether competition at work, at school, and in daily life is a good thing or we should try to cooperate more rather than competing against each other. From my perspective cooperation is much more beneficial than competing against each others. In this essay we will discuss both the perspectives and their impacts on life.

On the one hand Competition at work, school and in daily life creates temporary motivation but sometimes it create lots of insecurity and jealousy furthermore it converted into arguments at work place and lack of coordination. Sometimes in the case of school and daily life for instance if a teacher compares a lazy child with smart one for some cases it will work like inspiration but most of time it develops insecurity and shame.

On the other hand cooperate more is far more beneficial than competing. In the case of working life you learn from colleagues in corporation. In schools teachers and students help other slow learner students to motivate for their work this will create trust and safety without any insecurity. In the term of daily life if a person complete with others it futher developed anxiety and depression due to lack of confidence and insecurity so instead of competing learn from others and took inspiration which is valuable for daily life.

In conclusion i agree with this statement that cooperation is much better than competing it build trust, confidence and team work better rather than competing furthermore dealing with anxiety and insecurity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both sides and state a clear preference for cooperation, especially in the opening and conclusion. Relevant examples include a teacher comparing pupils and colleagues learning from one another. However, the arguments are brief and sometimes unclear: the benefits of workplace competition are not really explained, while the cooperation examples are asserted rather than developed with specific outcomes. The response contains 228 words, so it is 22 words below the required minimum; the 25 words copied from the prompt are not counted. This limits the space available to explain and support the ideas. To strengthen the response, develop each side with a clear reason and a concrete example, then explain how each example supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to track because several claims are joined together without clear links, as in the sentence about competition causing insecurity, jealousy, arguments, and lack of coordination. Some references are also unclear, particularly “this will create trust and safety,” where the exact action or group being referred to is not fully specified. Use shorter, logically connected sentences and make pronouns refer clearly to a named idea or group.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “motivation,” “insecurity,” “jealousy,” “inspiration,” and “cooperation.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main contrast. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. For example, “in corporation” does not express learning from colleagues at work, and “complete with others” appears to be an incorrect choice for competing. “Slow learner students” is also an awkward description. Aim to use precise topic phrases and check that verbs and nouns naturally combine; varying repeated terms such as “competing” and “insecurity” would also improve the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a conditional example beginning “if a teacher compares a lazy child with smart one.” However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and frequent errors affect clarity. Examples include “sometimes it create” instead of subject–verb agreement, “it converted” where the verb form is incorrect, and “cooperate more is far more beneficial,” which needs a grammatical subject such as “cooperating.” There are also errors with articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries, including “against each others” and the run-on sequence in the first body paragraph. Practise accurate verb forms and agreement first, then divide long sentences and punctuate each complete idea.

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

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