Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

THE PROPOTENT PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT HAVING COMPETITION IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE IS BENEFICIAL, WHILE CRITICS ARGUE THAT THERE OUGHT TO BE HARMONY AMONG EACHOTHER. ALTHOUGH BEING COMPITITIVE IS VIRTUOUS, IT CAN HAVE DELETRIOUS AFFECTS. IN MY OPINION, THE PEOPLE SHOULD MAINTAIN BALANCE BETWEEN COMPETITIVE AND COOPERATIVE.

ON ONE HAND, THE COMPITITIVE PERSON WILL BE GOAL ORIENTED. BY HAVING COOPERATE CHALLENGES IN OFFICE, EMPLOYERS WOULD BE MORE EFFICIENT AND WILL BE ABLE TO IMPROVE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. ALONG WITH THAT COMPANIES WILL BE ABLE TO FIND FASTER AND EFFICIENT EMPLOYERS. AT SCHOOLS ACADEMIC CONTEST PLAY PIVOTAL ROLE IN DERIVING PERSONAL GROWTH BY PUSHING STUDENTS OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE. HOWEVER, THERE IS A NEGATIVE SIDE OF IT AS WELL. THE UNHEALTHY COMPITITION CAN CAUSE INCREASE IN STRESS. CONSTANT PRESSURE TO OUTPERFORM CAN LEAD TO ANXIETY AND OTHER MENTAL ISSUES. IN ADDITION RELATIONSHIP CAN BE AFFECTED BY UNETHICALLY COMPITITION. IT CAN ALSO HARM SELF-ESTEEM AS ONE LOSS WILL FEEL LIKE A DEVASTATING PERSONAL FAILURE.

ON OTHER HAND, BEING HELPFUL AND KIND TO EACH OTHER WILL BOOST MORAL. AT WORKPLACE, EMPLOYERS HAVING AMIABLE BEHAVIOUR WILL RESULTS IN COLLECTIVE GROWTH AND GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH PEERS. AT SCHOOL, STUDENTS LEARN TO BE CARING AND SUPPORTIVE. BUT, WITH NO COMPITION THE INDIVIDUALS BECOME LAZY AND DONT HAVE MOTIVATION TO DO WORK AS ITS NOT REWARDING.

TO CONCLUDE, BEING COMPITITIVE AND COOPERATIVE ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT AND THE INDIVIDUAL MUST MAINTIAN THE BALALCE AMONG THEM. HEALTHY COMPITITION SHOULD BE THE PART OF OUR DAILY LIFE AS IT WILL HELP US IN MOVING AHEAD..

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear position: “the individual must maintain the balance” between competition and cooperation. Relevant points include competition encouraging goal-setting and student growth, as well as the risks of stress and damaged relationships. The cooperation paragraph also gives workplace and school examples. However, some ideas are asserted rather than explained: for instance, the claim that competition helps companies find “faster and efficient employers” is unclear, and the point that people become lazy without competition needs support or qualification. Develop each main claim with a brief explanation or example, and make your view on when competition is beneficial more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs presenting the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On one hand,” “On other hand,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the discussion. Some connections, however, feel mechanical, and the first body paragraph moves quickly from workplace benefits to school contests and then to several disadvantages. The relationship between these points could be made clearer by grouping benefits and drawbacks more deliberately. A few references are also vague, such as “it” in “It can also harm self-esteem,” where the reader must infer that this means unhealthy competition. Use clearer links between claims and specify what pronouns refer to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “goal oriented,” “interpersonal skills,” “pivotal role,” “outperform,” and “self-esteem.” These choices show an effort to express nuanced ideas, but inaccurate spelling and word choice are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear. Examples include “propotent,” “compititive,” and “deletrious,” as well as “cooperate challenges,” which does not convey the intended idea naturally. Some collocations are also awkward, such as “boost moral” and “unethically competition.” Build accuracy alongside range by checking spelling and learning common word partnerships; for example, use “cooperative challenges,” “boost morale,” and “unethical competition.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and attempts at more complex structures, including “Although being competitive is virtuous, it can have deleterious effects” and sentences beginning with “By having…” and “As…”. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement occur often enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to interpret. For example, “Employers having amiable behaviour will results” has an incorrect verb form and an unclear subject, while “one loss will feel” does not use a suitable grammatical construction. There are also missing articles and inconsistent sentence punctuation. Practise building accurate subject–verb patterns and check each sentence for a clear subject, a correctly formed verb, and complete punctuation.

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