Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-22

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)

Yes, I eventually agree that some people think competition at work, in school, and in daily life is a good thing. But many people also believe that they should try to cooperate more, rather than compete against each other.

On the one hand, Competition is very much required at work or in school because I think if there's no competition, then the individual won't push themselves to the core. Or the best outcome that an individual person would produce won't be visible. For example, if students in a class won't compete for good marks, then no student would try their best to score the highest, and they won't be pushing themselves. A similar situation occurs with the employees at work, so if there is a group of people told to make a website and if they are competing, they'll try to make there website better then the other people and to do that they have to work hard, do more research and so on. If they were not competing, then the website that deserved to win wouldn't be delivered because no one would have tried to make it better; a simple design would be granted.

On the other hand, if people try to cooperate rather than compete, then the best outcome would not come out. Because they are not cooperating, they would not push themselves to their best version. Sometimes if people are cooperating, then it is fine, but it becomes a habit, then there would be issues.

In conclusion I would like to say that competing is very important whether at work, school or in daily life. Cooperating won't make you the better version of yourself, competing does.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You give a clear preference for competition in the introduction and conclusion, and your first main paragraph offers relevant examples from school and work. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the cooperation side is not genuinely explained: the paragraph beginning “On the other hand” mainly repeats why competition is beneficial and claims cooperation prevents people from improving. This leaves one part of the task only minimally addressed. The examples about marks and website design are also asserted rather than fully developed, and the conclusion makes a broad claim without qualification. To strengthen the response, explain a real benefit of cooperation, such as sharing skills to solve a complex problem, then compare its value with healthy competition and support your position with clearer reasoning. (The response meets the required length; 9 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs signposted with “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This gives the reader a basic framework. However, the progression within that framework is weak: the second body paragraph is labelled as the cooperation view but returns to the claim that competition produces the best outcome, so the contrast is not logically sustained. Several ideas are joined in long chains with repeated “if” clauses and “then,” making relationships between points harder to follow. The opening also repeats the two positions rather than setting up a focused argument. Give each body paragraph one clear purpose, use linking phrases to show cause and contrast, and ensure each example directly supports that paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the general topic, with relevant terms such as “competition,” “cooperate,” “employees,” “research,” and “outcome.” The examples are understandable, but the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, particularly “best,” “push themselves,” and “competing.” Some choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “push themselves to the core,” “the best outcome would not come out,” and “a simple design would be granted.” These expressions make parts of the argument less clear and show limited control of collocation. Aim for more precise language for performance and teamwork—for example, describe people as striving to excel or teams as producing a stronger result—and check spelling and comparative forms such as “their” and “than.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if there’s no competition” and “if students in a class won’t compete.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but complex sentences are often poorly controlled, and punctuation sometimes creates fragments or awkward joins. For instance, “Because they are not cooperating, they would not push themselves to their best version” is separated from the preceding sentence, while “if there is a group of people told to make a website and if they are competing” has an unclear structure. There are also errors in agreement and sentence construction, including “no student would try their best … and they won’t be pushing themselves.” Practise building shorter, complete sentences first, then combine ideas with accurate clauses and consistent verb forms.

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