Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-09

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)

Many individuals believe that having competition at work, school and in daily routine is a healthy thing. Others feel that everyone should try to be less challenging and not compete against each other. I think it is a good habit to feel challenged in your normal life and work to be more successful.

Number of people emphasize the importance of feeling challenged, it helps the person to be more focused on their tasks, people who does not feel comfortable in their current position, whether it is an employee, a student or a person playing with his friends should become more competitive to reach its potential. For example, a student with great potential to be a footballer needs to be challenged to improve its skills, rather than staying in the comfort zone without unlocking his true self.

On the other hand, many believe that cooperating more helps everyone stay relevant, competing with different people can also have a negative impact on a person, so it makes them feel safer to not feel challenged by their peers. For example, an employee with a more experience gets jealous with a newly signed manager in a better position.

In my opinion, the feeling of challenged brings the best version of a person, a person adapting new things everyday it increases their chances be more successful.

In conclusion, people believe that competition is important in daily life, on the other hand, cooperating sometimes will also better the community.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You present a clear personal view that competition can help people succeed, and you include relevant examples involving a student and an employee. However, the discussion is only partial: the benefits of cooperation are asserted rather than explained, and the employee example focuses on jealousy rather than showing how cooperation helps. The claim that competition brings out “the best version of a person” also needs clearer reasoning or support. The conclusion mentions both sides but does not develop your position further. In addition, the response is 243 words, below the required 250-word minimum. Develop both viewpoints more fully and explain how your examples support them.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, your opinion, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” help signal changes in direction. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The first supporting paragraph moves from focus at work and school to a football example without clearly connecting each point, while the cooperation paragraph gives an example of jealousy that does not directly illustrate cooperation. The opinion paragraph is brief and its relationship to the preceding discussion is not fully developed. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and avoid repeating the same contrast in both the final paragraph and conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperating,” “potential,” “comfort zone,” and “jealous.” There are also attempts at more expressive phrasing, such as “unlocking his true self.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear: “less challenging” does not express the idea of cooperating, and “a more experience” is not a natural way to describe a senior employee. “Feeling of challenged” and “better the community” are also awkward. Aim for precise, natural phrases such as “less competitive,” “more experienced,” and “benefit the community,” and vary repeated uses of “feel challenged.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “A student with great potential … needs to be challenged,” and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, the range is limited and errors occur frequently, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “Number of people emphasize” lacks an article, and “people who does not” has subject–verb disagreement. In “a person adapting new things everyday it increases their chances be more successful,” the sentence structure and verb forms are faulty. Pronoun reference also shifts between “a student,” “its,” and “his.” Use shorter, controlled sentences where needed, check agreement and articles, and ensure each sentence has a clear subject and complete verb structure.

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