Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-13

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)

It is widely argued that competition in professional, academic and in every day life is a good thing whilst others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.

Firstly, competitions at work, school and in daily life might have some negative outcomes but it can bring out some positive outcomes too. Competition makes people become more responsible and hard working towards their goals. People, when they think that others are competing with them they would try to become more motivated towards their goal which would ultimately make them hard working and responsible in life which is a good thing because it makes a person become hard working. Moreover, competition also helps to create discipline. For instance, a student looking at his friend who is working hard in studies and at work would want him to work harder too which would as a result make them more motivated, disciplined and hard working individuals.

Secondly, cooperating with others and helping them out by providing them with the right guidance is also crucial. One should try to become more helpful rather than just competing against other people. If people would just compete against each other and not cooperate more with one another, it creates a stressful environment for individuals which also has a negative impact on society. Futhermore, not helping and just competing againt each other hinders growth and creates no room for improvement. In my opinion, one should cooperate more rather than competing against others. For example, if people would stay in competition with one another and not help each other it creates a stressful and negative environment.

In conclusion, competition might be beneficial to some extent but cooperating and helping one another at work, at school and in daily life is of great importance to create a successful and happy environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both competition and cooperation, and your position in favour of cooperation is clear in the second body paragraph and conclusion. Relevant points include competition encouraging motivation and discipline, while excessive rivalry may create stress and hinder growth. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the competition paragraph repeats the ideas of being “hard working” and “motivated,” and the example about a student and friend is unclear (“a student looking at his friend … would want him to work harder too”). The cooperation side is also asserted more than explained, with no specific example showing how cooperation improves outcomes. Develop each view with a distinct reason and a clearer, concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting the contrasting views, and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is limited because several sentences repeat similar claims, particularly the repeated references to motivation and hard work. Some links are also awkward or unclear: “For instance” introduces an example whose relationship between the student and friend is difficult to follow, while the final example largely repeats the preceding point about stress. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each example directly to its reason, and avoid restating the same claim to make the argument progress more logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, with relevant terms such as “competition,” “cooperate,” “discipline,” “stressful environment,” and “hinders growth.” However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “hard working,” “motivated,” and “competing against each other.” Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “providing them with the right guidance” where the point is broader cooperation, and “stay in competition with one another.” There are also spelling errors in “Futhermore” and “againt,” which reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of precise terms for collaboration and rivalry, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If people would just compete … it creates a stressful environment” and relative clauses such as “which would ultimately make them hard working.” These attempts show some range, but control is inconsistent. For example, “competitions … might have some negative outcomes but it can bring” has a plural–singular agreement mismatch, and “People, when they think … they would try” has an awkwardly constructed clause. The conditional sentence also shifts from “would” to “creates,” making the relationship less controlled. Repeated long sentences with several clauses make these issues more noticeable. Practise accurate agreement and consistent conditional forms, and divide overloaded sentences into clearer units.

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