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)

It is often argued that students should be to compared with one another in their daily life, at school, even at work. Some people believe that we should help each other instead of comparing one another. I will discuss both views with reasons and examples in my essay. I will give my own opinion at the end.

It is often argued that competition is necessary for students to survive. Firstly, class competition prepared students to overcome their difficulties because they focused on the main topic which found very tough by their other classmates. For example, the Brokenfield school took competitors every year, because the management of this school knew that they could achieve high ranking as compared to other institutions because of these students mentality. Secondly, people compare themself with others in many ways because they want to make a prominent personality. For instance, people in their offices tried to make good report than others because they want to shine. These types of people even start to competing in many aspects of their life because they want to survive.

However, some people believe that we should cooperate with each other. Firstly, they depend on team-work because they knew the real value of unity. For example, most people in China suffered from difficulties few years ago. Although people of the china begin to contributed in their society, now China is considering the most developed country in the list. Furthermore, they believe that they get chances to the counsiling with others. Because when they discuss their work with others, next person highlight their mistakes. For instance, meeting rooms in offices help their staff to improve their mistakes.

In my conclusion, we should cooperate with others. If we help other people, they will give best advice in our tough time. Team-work matters a lot for success. Some people argued that competition is necessary but i do not think the same. In my point of view, counsiling with others and team-work have great importance in life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference for cooperation in the conclusion. The competition paragraph gives relevant reasons, such as students facing difficult topics and employees trying to perform well, while the cooperation paragraph refers to teamwork and colleagues identifying mistakes. However, several points are not fully explained or are difficult to connect to the argument. The example about Brokenfield school does not clearly show how competition benefits students, and the claim about China becoming developed is broad and unsupported. Your opening also says you will give your opinion “at the end,” so your position is not clear until the conclusion. Develop each example with a direct explanation of how it supports the view, and make your position clear earlier.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “However,” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and some links between claims and examples are unclear. For instance, the move from people in China facing difficulties to China’s development does not explain the connection, while “Because when they discuss their work with others” is an awkward fragment after the preceding sentence. References such as “they” and “these students” can also be unclear. Use fewer formulaic transitions and make the relationship between each reason and its example explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “team-work,” “unity,” and “prominent personality.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the intended meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “class competition prepared students,” “took competitors,” “make good report,” and “chances to the counsiling.” There are also spelling or word-form problems, such as “counsiling” and “themself.” Aim to learn common topic collocations and check the form and spelling of less familiar words. More precise expressions such as “academic competition,” “select participants,” and “seek advice” would make your ideas clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because” and “although,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently, especially in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “students should be to compared” has an incorrect verb pattern, “class competition prepared students” uses an unsuitable tense, and “people of the china begin to contributed” combines verb forms incorrectly. The sentence beginning “Because when they discuss…” is also incomplete, and “Some people argued” shifts tense unnecessarily. Practise building accurate subject–verb–object sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; proofread each sentence for tense consistency and complete clause structure.

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