Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-12

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)

Everywhere you see there will be competition whenever its work, school and everydaylife. The proponent argue that competition at different stages or areas offers indespensable benefits, while opponent contend that cooperation with each other is googd rather than competing against each other. Ultimately, I believe that sometimes you have to compete and sometimes you have to cooperate depending on situation.

For some people competing against each others is better because they think if you don't compete you will be left far behind from your coleagues whether they are at school with you, at work or in yor daily life. So if you want progress in your life you have to go faster rather than sticking at one place or thing. Took example nokia mobile phone company, In previous two decades there was no company to compete with them but when they stopped competing with other companies so they left behind and now new generaton even don't know about those mobile phones.

While some people on the other hands believe that we should cooperate with each other rather than competing because cooperating with each other lead to better team work and finish harder tasks with ease. For example, when group of people working in a company, so they need to cooperate with each other for the adavacement of the company. So in this situation you don't have to compete with

Both the views are good in its own place but I believe that if you improve yourself you will have to compete but if you are working in a company with group and working for the improvment of the company so you have to cooperate with your team. So both competition and cooperation have their own place depending you are working for yourself or working in a group.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both sides and give a clear, conditional opinion: competition can help personal progress, while cooperation is important when people work towards a shared company goal. The Nokia example supports your point that firms can fall behind if they stop competing, and the teamwork example is relevant to cooperation. However, the two views are not developed equally: the cooperation paragraph is brief and ends mid-sentence (“So in this situation you don't have to compete with”), leaving its explanation incomplete. The conclusion repeats your position but could explain more precisely how competition and cooperation can complement each other. Develop each side with a fuller explanation and a specific example to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. Linking phrases such as “For some people,” “While some people,” and “Ultimately” help signal the discussion. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, and connections between ideas are not always clear. For example, “So if you want progress in your life you have to go faster” does not fully explain how competition produces progress. The cooperation paragraph’s unfinished final sentence also interrupts the flow. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each example explicitly to its main point, and ensure every paragraph reaches a complete ending.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “team work,” “progress,” and “left behind.” However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the writing less precise, such as “indespensable,” “googd,” “coleagues,” and “adavacement.” Some expressions are also unnatural, including “Everywhere you see there will be competition” and “finish harder tasks with ease.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, such as “competition exists in many areas of life” and “complete challenging tasks more effectively.” This would make your ideas clearer and show more flexible control of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “if you want progress in your life you have to go faster” and a contrast between the two views. However, some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “The proponent argue” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “cooperating with each other lead” also needs agreement. There are issues with articles and sentence construction in “when group of people working in a company,” and the final sentence, “depending you are working,” lacks the required grammatical link. Practise accurate agreement, complete clauses, and conditional phrasing, and check punctuation around longer sentences.

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