Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-17

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)

Competition inhance the thoughts of people and help them to improve their mistakes. Some people believe that competition is an advantage at work, at school and in every walk of life. On the other hand, some believe that we should not to compete each other instead of that we cooperate more with each other. According to my perspectives, competition is the best way to express their qualities and skills. It also avoid them to make mistakes. On the first hand, some people think that competition is better at work, at school, and in daily life. In competition people work hard from the next person to become a winner. The do more struggle to achieve their goals and they work day and night for their achievement. Furthermore, it also teach the people to make less mistakes they work again and again and improve their mistakes solely out of the desire that they might live. On the other hand, some think that cooperate is better than competing with each other. By cooperation the chance of growth is closed. Those who already advanced progress ever further, while those who lag behind remain merely occupied with the act of moving. This is not fair to others. In summary, I more prefer competition at work, at school and in daily life rather than cooperate with each other because competition enlarge the idea of the people and they get the oppurtinity to show their qualities and skills to other and also take the inspiration form others.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You give a clear preference for competition, stating that it helps people show their “qualities and skills,” and you include points about effort and learning from mistakes. However, the discussion of cooperation is very brief and does not explain its benefits; the claim that “the chance of growth is closed” is unclear and does not adequately represent the opposing view. Several ideas are asserted rather than supported with relevant examples or explanation, so the task is only partially addressed. The response also contains 233 words, which is 17 words below the required minimum; 17 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop both sides more evenly, clarify your position, and add a specific example to support it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs beginning “On the first hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. These markers help the reader identify the two viewpoints. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited, and some links between claims are unclear. For example, “Furthermore, it also teach the people…” does not clearly connect the idea of working hard with the claim about making fewer mistakes. The cooperation paragraph moves quickly from growth to unfairness without explaining the relationship. The conclusion repeats points from the introduction rather than bringing the discussion together. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and organise each body paragraph around one developed main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “achievement,” “goals,” and “qualities and skills.” There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “in every walk of life.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, sometimes making the intended meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “the chance of growth is closed,” “they might live,” and “take the inspiration form others.” Spelling and word-form errors such as “inhance,” “oppurtinity,” and “form” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural expressions and check spelling; for instance, explain specifically how cooperation can support shared progress rather than using an unclear phrase.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including sentences joined with “because” and “while,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors are frequent, and some complex attempts are faulty. For example, “we should not to compete” uses an incorrect verb pattern, “it also teach” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “some think that cooperate is better” uses the wrong form after “that.” There are also problems with articles and plurals, as in “make less mistakes,” and the opening sentence lacks a clear grammatical subject-verb form. Practise accurate verb patterns, agreement, and sentence construction before adding more complexity. Proofreading each sentence for a complete subject and correctly formed verb would improve clarity.

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