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)

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. Both of the people give different arguments in support of their ideas.

The people who think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing support their idea by saying that if there would be a competition among the people at work, school and in daily life make them more productive, It makes them to focus on their work and they also ignore the distractions to improve their work. They will always try be better than others. But in the sence of competition they forget the true spirit of teamwork.

The people who think that we should cooperate more, rather than competing with others. They also provide different arguments to support their idea. They say that if there would be only competition at work, school or in daily life everyone will forget the meaning of teamwork and they would always try to compete instead of cooperating. If everyone cooperates for a specific work, they can do it more efficiently and more accurately.

I think both of the ideas are correct if they are implemented in a way to create an environment of cooperative competition. If they are implemented simultaneously it can be better than implementing one of the idea at once. In this way, people can be more productive in a sence of cooperation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You discuss both perspectives and give your own view, identifying productivity as a benefit of competition and teamwork and efficiency as benefits of cooperation. Your conclusion also offers a relevant compromise: “cooperative competition.” However, the response addresses the task only partially because these points are asserted rather than developed with specific explanations or examples. For instance, explain how competition might motivate employees or students, and give a concrete situation showing how cooperation improves results. Your position is present, but the final claim that both approaches should be implemented together needs clearer justification. The response is 204 words, below the 250-word minimum; 47 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Use the additional space to develop and support each main idea.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. This helps the reader follow the basic discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is limited, and several points are repeated rather than extended—for example, the idea that competition can make people more productive appears alongside repeated references to teamwork. Linking is also somewhat mechanical, with repeated openings such as “The people who think…” and “They say…”. The sentence beginning “I think both of the ideas are correct” introduces your position, but the relationship between cooperation and competition could be explained more clearly. Develop each paragraph around one main claim, then connect it to a reason and an example using varied, precise transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “productive,” “distractions,” “teamwork,” “efficiently,” and “cooperates.” These choices make the discussion understandable, and “cooperative competition” is a useful attempt to express your own position. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or imprecise, such as “different arguments to support their idea” and “in a sence of cooperation.” There are also spelling errors, including “sence,” and some unnatural combinations, such as “focus on their work” followed by “ignore the distractions to improve their work.” Aim for more precise vocabulary for motivation, shared effort, and outcomes, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If everyone cooperates for a specific work, they can do it more efficiently.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but the range is limited and errors occur frequently, particularly in conditional forms, verb patterns, and sentence construction. For example, “if there would be a competition … make them more productive” has an incorrect conditional structure and lacks a clear grammatical connection between its parts. “They will always try be better” needs an infinitive marker, while “makes them to focus” uses an incorrect verb pattern. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “It” after a comma. Practise accurate conditional sentences and review verb patterns before attempting longer structures.

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

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