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)

There are competition in every field and a lot of things need to sacrifice during competition even a sleep or hunger. It is believed by some people that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing, whereas others believe that we must help others and cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. This essay will discuss both views and my personal opinion.

On the one hand there are a lot of benefits to be a competitor in life. Firstly, people achieve almost everything which they want in their life and they have a lot of efficiency to deal with difficulties which they face in their entire life. Furthermore, if many individuals are competitor nearby person so they motivate to achieve more than them and reached at very peak. Secondly, competition at work, shool and in daily life teach individual a lot of things and make person financially so well.

On the other hand some people believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. There are a lot of benefits to help others, firstly, it spread good relation among other people and if someone expert at anything so they should help others it is also a social activity and with the help of this people enjoy their life. Because in the race of competition idividual forget to live their life and sometimes become stressed due to competitions.

In conclusion, competition help to learn a lot of things and motivate to do hardwork. According to my personal opinion person need to be a competitive but as well as they also need to help others and cooperate because cooperation is also social activity and also prevent people from harm.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and give a personal view: the essay identifies motivation and learning as benefits of competition, and social relationships and reduced stress as benefits of cooperation. Your conclusion also states that people should be competitive while helping others. However, the discussion is only partially developed. For example, the claim that competition helps people achieve what they want is broad, and the point about becoming financially successful is not explained or illustrated. The cooperation paragraph gives relevant reasons but could show more clearly how collaboration benefits people at work or school. Develop each main idea with a specific explanation or example, and make your position more consistent throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and several ideas are joined in long sentences without clear relationships. For instance, the sentence beginning “Furthermore, if many individuals…” combines competition, motivation, and achievement in a confusing way. Some references, such as “them,” are not fully clear. Use a wider range of linking methods and divide or reshape sentences so each paragraph develops one main point logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “motivate,” “difficulties,” and “stressed,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “a competitor in life,” “a lot of efficiency,” “reached at very peak,” and “spread good relation.” Spelling errors such as “shool” and “idividual” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of natural topic phrases and check word forms and spelling. Prefer precise expressions such as “develop resilience,” “reach their full potential,” and “build positive relationships” where they fit your meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “whereas,” “if,” and “because.” This shows an effort to vary sentence structure, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur often enough to make some sentences difficult to understand. For example, “There are competition in every field” has an agreement error, while “if many individuals are competitor… so they motivate” has problems with agreement and clause construction. The conclusion also contains unclear structures in “person need to be a competitive but as well as they also need.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, plurals, and complete clause patterns. Shorter, well-controlled sentences would help you express your ideas more clearly.

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