Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-15

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)

The issue, whether competition or cooperation is better in daily life or at work is better, continues to generate debate with views sharply divided. Some people argue that a competitive environment at work, schools or in daily life is beneficial. While on the other hand, other people have opinion that they should work together. Although both perspectives carry merits, I align myself with the former view, as I believe that It has more positive points.

On the one hand, It is understandable that people believe that a competitive environment is important to work better in schools and work place. It is due to the reason that competition can lead to more ideas and more fruitful outcomes. For example, people working in an institute will compete with each other to work hard to perform well and consequently result in more good performance and alot of new ideas. Same goes for students, as they will tend to perform better than other students and score good. Competition can lead to more learning opportunities and they will work hard to get high scores. In daily life, competition can lead to better living standards and improve the quality.

On the other hand, some people believe that they should cooperate and work together. For example, working together will result in more hard tasks achieved in less time. Both views have positive outcomes, but I align myself with the perspective that competition is more important to work hard and achieve the goals. For example, If there is only one post vacant, many people will compete with each other so we can get a best option for the post. Moreover, sense of competition can make a person to work efficiently.

In conclusion, there are more benefits of a competition in daily life and work place as compared to working together.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both competition and cooperation and state a clear preference for competition, so the main parts of the prompt are addressed. The examples about employees generating ideas, students aiming for higher scores, and candidates competing for a vacant post are relevant. However, the cooperation side is only briefly explained: “working together will result in more hard tasks achieved in less time” is not developed with a specific example or further reasoning. Some claims about competition, such as improving living standards, are also asserted rather than explained. To strengthen the response, develop both views more evenly and clarify how the examples support your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the broad organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive: the first body paragraph returns several times to the idea that competition makes people work harder, without clearly grouping or extending the points. The transition “Both views have positive outcomes” also appears in the paragraph about cooperation before the argument returns to competition, which makes the paragraph’s focus less clear. Use topic sentences to establish each paragraph’s purpose and connect examples directly to the point they illustrate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competitive environment,” “cooperate,” “outcomes,” and “living standards.” However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “work hard,” “better,” and “more good performance.” Some collocations are unnatural, including “a best option” and “more hard tasks achieved,” while “alot” is an incorrect spelling. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the argument, but they reduce precision and fluency. Aim to use a wider range of accurate phrases for describing motivation, collaboration, and results, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “as” and “although,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors occur in sentence construction, articles, agreement, and punctuation. For example, the opening sentence has a confusing structure (“The issue, whether competition or cooperation is better … is better”), and “other people have opinion” needs an article. In “competition can lead to more learning opportunities and they will work hard,” the pronoun reference is unclear. Capitalisation is also inconsistent, as in “It” and “If” mid-sentence. Practise building clear, complete sentences and check articles, pronoun references, and punctuation, especially in longer sentences.

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

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