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)

Nowadays, some people belive that competition is important in work, school and daily life, while others think that coorporation is better. In my opinion, both are useful, but cooperataion is more important.

On thw one hand, competition can motivate people to eork harder and achieve their goals. Students may study more to get better marks than their classmates. Similarly, employees may try to improve their perfomances to get promotions and higher salaries.As a result, compwetition can help people develop their skilld and become successful.

On the other hand, cooperation allows people to share ideas and help each other. For example, students can work together on projects and learn from one another. In the teamwork,,teamworkplace can help employees solve problems more quickly and cpmlete tasks efficintly. Moreover, coorporatation builds trust and creates good relationships between people.

In conclusion, althogh competition can encourage people to improve themeselves, I belive cooperation is more beneficial because it promotes teamwork, mutual understanding and better results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference: “both are useful, but cooperation is more important.” Relevant examples include students aiming for better marks and employees seeking promotions, followed by students and colleagues working together. However, these points are brief and mostly asserted rather than explained, so the discussion is only partially developed. The conclusion repeats your position but does not add support. The response also falls short of the required 250 words, leaving limited space to explain why cooperation produces better results or when competition may be useful. Develop each view with a fuller explanation and a specific example, then connect these points clearly to your opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow, and the contrast between competition and cooperation is logical. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some features of stronger progression. However, the short paragraphs contain little development, and links between claims and their consequences are sometimes abrupt—for example, the move from competition to “become successful.” Expand the reasoning within each paragraph and use pronouns or linking phrases carefully; the repeated wording “teamwork,,teamworkplace” also interrupts the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “promotions,” “share ideas,” and “mutual understanding.” Some phrases, such as “achieve their goals” and “solve problems more quickly,” are appropriate to the topic. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling errors make the writing less reliable: “belive,” “coorporation,” “perfomances,” “compwetition,” and “efficintly.” There are also awkward or unclear choices, particularly “teamworkplace,” which appears to be an unintended combination. Aim to check spelling carefully and use a wider range of precise expressions for explaining benefits, such as “collaborative problem-solving” or “healthy rivalry.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use mostly straightforward sentence patterns, with some attempts to combine ideas using “while,” “because,” and “to,” as in “some people believe … while others think” and “cooperation is more beneficial because it promotes teamwork.” These structures help express contrast and reasons. However, the range remains limited, and errors in sentence construction and punctuation are present. In “In the teamwork,,teamworkplace can help employees…,” the sentence is disrupted by duplicated material and punctuation, making the meaning difficult to follow. There are also missing spaces after full stops, as in “salaries.As a result,” and an extra space in “Students may.” Use a broader mix of accurate complex sentences and proofread punctuation and spacing.

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