Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

In recent years,some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing while others believe that people should try to coopereate more instead of competing each other has become a noticeable trend for many socities.This phenemenon may give rise to different concerns, I firmly believe that competiton at work or school is good as it makes a person more hard working in his work whereas coorperating with others is also a good thing as competing on daily basis can lead to personal grudges.This essay will examine the given statement and provide reasons for it.

The primary reason people consider competing a good thing is that it makes a person more good at his/her work.To accentuate it, a person only competes when there is a formidable person or need praise and one will eventually work harder to overcome the person.For example, a specific example of this can be seen in a survey conducted in The UK by some researchers stated that a person will be motivated the most when he feels jealousy or think he/she has a formidable opponent.Hence this paragraph justifies the first reason.

Furthermore,a significant reason people consider cooperating rather than competing with each other is mainly because competing regularly can lead to personal grudges or sometimes stressfull situations.In other words, if a person is not doing well in his work and the other is person doing excellent and getting praises from seniors one might hold a grudge against the person.For instance, a specific example of this can be seen in a survey conducted in Canada last year stated that in a well reputated firm, senior employes are likely to compete with each other and sometimes hold a grudge.Hence this paragraph justifies the second reason.

Personally,I believe that although competing at work or school can make a person work more harder , competing daily life can also lead to holding grudges .So i think that coorperatng with colleagues can make the person more comfortable at his work

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both perspectives and state a personal view: competition can encourage harder work, while cooperation may prevent resentment and make colleagues more comfortable. These points are relevant, but the response only partially develops the task. The discussion of competition is supported mainly by a general claim about motivation, and the cooperation paragraph focuses on the negative effects of competition rather than explaining the benefits of cooperation in its own right. The survey examples are vague and do not provide clear, verifiable detail or explain how they support the claims. Your position also shifts somewhat: the introduction supports competition at work or school, while the conclusion favours cooperation without clearly resolving how the two should be balanced. Develop each side with a specific explanation and a consistent final position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding personal opinion. This helps the reader identify the main stages of your discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is often mechanical: phrases such as “To accentuate it,” “Hence this paragraph justifies,” and “Furthermore” announce connections without developing them smoothly. The repeated survey-example pattern also makes the two body paragraphs feel formulaic. Some references are unclear, as in “one might hold a grudge against the person,” where the people involved could be identified more precisely. The conclusion is very brief and does not fully bring together the two sides. Use clearer links between claim, explanation, and example, and make the conclusion directly answer how competition and cooperation should coexist.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “formidable opponent,” “motivated,” “personal grudges,” and “cooperating.” This gives you some means of expressing the main ideas, but the range is limited and several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors reduce precision. Examples include “coopereate,” “socities,” “phenemenon,” “competiton,” and “stressfull.” Phrases such as “more good at his/her work” and “work more harder” are also unnatural; these are vocabulary and collocation issues rather than sentence-structure problems. Repeated wording such as “a specific example of this can be seen” further limits variety. Build a reliable set of topic phrases and check spelling and natural combinations, such as “improve performance” and “foster cooperation.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “although” and conditional structures such as “if a person is not doing well … one might hold a grudge.” However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, and frequent errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, the opening sentence joins several clauses without clear punctuation, while “a person only competes when there is a formidable person or need praise” has faulty structure and missing grammatical elements. There are also errors in agreement and sentence construction, as in “the other is person doing excellent,” and the final sentence lacks clear punctuation. Practise building shorter, accurate sentences first, then combine them using controlled clauses. Pay particular attention to articles, verb forms, agreement, and punctuation.

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