Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-10
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 people believe that compition at workplace, at school and in daily life is good and most individuals has the point of view that they should work together by co-operating with each other rather than any kind of competition. It is not incorrect to say that healthy competition is the key to progress in every field.
When the employees have a healthy competition with each other, they will work more harder and actively play an important role for betterment of the company. In daily life, when there is no competition among the people of the society, The courage to become a better person decreases rapidly. It is obvious that if there is no competition among individuals, they will spend normal life. If all the students in a class are same and no competition among them on the basis of their work, they will not try to study hard and there is no eager among them to get position in the class.
On the other hand, many people think that they should cooperate with each other and contribute in progress together. It can be possible but only in one scenario when all the employees of the company are equally accountable for any mischieve or progress. Unfortunately in the current era it is impossible to held accountable whole company or group of employees for any michieve, or contrary to that if employers give award to only a specific employee, others will get hurt.
To sum up all this discussion it is the best to say that healthy competition is required in all fields such as competition among students so they will study hard to get place in class, among employees for a better progress of the company, and also in daily life so that a person will try to upgrade his life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response gives a clear preference for healthy competition, especially in the opening and conclusion, and offers relevant examples from workplaces, schools, and daily life. However, the discussion of cooperation is only partly developed: it focuses mainly on shared accountability and the risk of employees feeling hurt when one person is rewarded, rather than explaining the benefits of cooperation or when it is effective. Some claims about competition, such as people otherwise living a “normal life,” are unclear or insufficiently supported. To strengthen the response, explain both viewpoints more evenly, develop each example with a clear cause-and-effect link, and state your position directly while acknowledging how cooperation can complement competition.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting competition, a paragraph presenting cooperation, and a concluding summary. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “To sum up” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly where the discussion moves from company accountability to employees feeling hurt by awards. Several ideas repeat the claim that competition encourages effort, and links between sentences are occasionally unclear. Organise each body paragraph around one main point, then explain and illustrate it before moving on. Clearer referencing and more precise links between claims would make the argument easier to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, with relevant terms such as “healthy competition,” “accountable,” and “contribute in progress.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which can make meaning less clear. For example, “work more harder” is not a natural expression, “there is no eager” uses the wrong form, and “get position in the class” is imprecise. Spelling errors such as “compition,” “mischieve,” and “michieve” also reduce accuracy. Build a more reliable range of topic vocabulary and check spelling, word forms, and natural combinations of words when revising.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts both simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if there is no competition among individuals” and a concession introduced by “although” is not used, so the sentence patterns remain fairly limited. Frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “most individuals has,” “they will work more harder,” “it is impossible to held accountable,” and “a person will try to upgrade his life.” Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in “The courage” after a comma. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and verb patterns, and use a wider range of controlled complex sentences. Proofreading for punctuation and sentence boundaries will improve clarity.
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