Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-11

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 it is a good thing to have competition at work, at school and in daily life activities while, others are more supportive of teamwork where individuals cooperate, instead of challenging each other individually. Both have there own impact on how humans can show productivity in their work daily.

Competition gives people an energy of keep going and giving their best to outpass others in the line. when humans work harder in such a way that they want to be better than others they put the extra work so that results can be in their favour. We ave seen so many examples where competition helped humans cross the limits. Recently we have seen this in football where two individuals; Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo used to give eachother tough times to be the best players in the world football and their dedication to be the number 1 gave them so much success.

Working in groups on the other hand has it's own advantages. When people work together in an environment where they are well known of their goals, they plan things to reach the desired results. Doing tasks with a certain timeframe helps stay focused and helps finish the projects with team work. We have heard a story in the past, where there was an old man who had 4 sons. He told them break a bunch a sticks one by one and none of them was able to do so and when he asked them to breaks the sticks together, they did that easily. I believe that the story was a perfect example of how coopration can help do tasks quickly and easily.

In the conclusion, it depends on the people that what they prefer more. If they are used to putting in efforts to to achieve results for themselves, they need to stay consistent. And of they are more interested in doing things together than, they have to communicate and do their tasks within the given timeframe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response discusses both competition and cooperation, and the examples of Messi and Ronaldo and the story of the sticks are relevant to the topic. However, the task asks for your own opinion, and the conclusion mainly says that the choice depends on what people prefer; it does not clearly state which approach you support or explain why. The discussion of competition is somewhat more developed through the football example, while the cooperation paragraph describes teamwork benefits but does not explore them in much detail. To strengthen the response, state a definite position in the introduction and conclusion, then explain the effects of each approach with specific reasoning rather than relying mainly on familiar examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on competition, a paragraph on cooperation, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “on the other hand” help signal the shift between the two views, and the examples generally appear in the relevant paragraphs. However, progression is sometimes weakened by unclear or awkward connections, such as “Both have there own impact on how humans can show productivity in their work daily.” The conclusion also repeats the two options without bringing the discussion together or clarifying your position. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports; for instance, explain how the football rivalry illustrates the benefits and possible limits of competition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “competition,” “teamwork,” “dedication,” “goals,” and “desired results,” so the main ideas are understandable. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate or unnatural choices make the writing less precise: “outpass others,” “give them tough times,” and “well known of their goals” do not express the intended meanings naturally. There are also spelling and word-form errors, including “coopration” and “ave.” Aim to learn common collocations for discussing performance and collaboration, and check spelling carefully. More precise phrasing would help you explain the advantages and disadvantages of each approach without relying on general expressions such as “a good thing” and “so much success.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, including clauses beginning with “when” and “where,” but control is inconsistent, and many sentences rely on basic patterns. Errors in sentence construction and punctuation include “while, others,” “when humans work harder” after a full stop, and “In the conclusion, it depends on the people that what they prefer more.” There are also problems with verb forms and agreement, as in “he told them break” and “when he asked them to breaks.” These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to follow. Practise forming accurate complex sentences with subordinate clauses, and check verb patterns after verbs such as “tell” and “ask,” as well as sentence boundaries and commas.

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