Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

It is true that in many countries, several individuals believe that competition at work, at school, and daily life is a good way to improve their life, while some people argue that we should cooperate each other, rather than competing against them. From my perspective, I believe that competition is a great to inhance our life and work, while I also consider that, individuals should be more helpful for others.

On the one hand, there are plenty of postive aspects of competition at work, at school, and daily life. To begin with, one of the most significant advantages of competition is that it can motivate individuals and achieve their ambitious goals. For instance, competing in school is a great to improve our study skill, due to students didnot want to get less grades compared with the othe students. Meanwhile, at work, most of the employes competing with each other for getting promotion or high salary. As a consequence, this development can encourage more for hard working.

On the other hand, several individuals believe that people should cooperate each other in their work place, at school, and their daily life, rather than competing against them. In addition, when students or employees working together, they can easily face various difficult work, as well as they can aslo share theri ideas with each other. Nevertheless, at school,

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You introduce both sides of the debate and state a position: competition can improve work and life, while people should also help one another. The first body paragraph gives relevant reasons, including motivation and striving for promotion. However, the discussion is only partial: the cooperation paragraph is unfinished, ending with “Nevertheless, at school,” and your own opinion is not explained beyond the brief opening statement. Examples and explanations are also limited, so the main ideas are not sufficiently developed. The response is 224 words, below the required 250-word minimum, which further restricts how fully you can address the task. Develop both viewpoints, complete the final paragraph, and explain how you balance competition with cooperation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction followed by paragraphs presenting competition and cooperation. Linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “To begin with,” and “On the other hand” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression is limited because the cooperation paragraph stops abruptly, and the essay has no conclusion to bring the ideas together or restate your position. Some connections are also unclear or repetitive, particularly the repeated listing of “at work, at school, and daily life.” Complete each paragraph with a developed point and use a concluding paragraph to show how the ideas relate. This would create a clearer overall progression rather than relying mainly on basic signposting.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “motivate,” “ambitious goals,” and “promotion.” There are also attempts to express cause and result, such as “As a consequence.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors make the writing less clear or natural: “inhance,” “postive,” “employes,” and “theri.” Some phrases are awkward, including “a great to improve our life” and “cooperate each other.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, such as “a good way to improve our performance” and “cooperate with one another.” Vary repeated words and phrases while keeping your meaning precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast in the introduction and a sentence beginning “when students or employees…”. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “students didnot want to get less grades” has problems with verb form and sentence construction, while “most of the employes competing” lacks a finite verb. In “when students or employees working together,” the clause also needs a correctly formed verb. Practise building complete clauses with a subject and finite verb, and check articles, plurals, and verb forms. More accurate sentence patterns would make your ideas easier to understand.

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

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