Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-23

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)

People have different opinions about competition at work,at school and in day to day life is a good thing.While others belive that individual should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.In my opinion I believe that cooperating more with peers,rather than just competing amongst each other by it improves individual knowledge and coordination.

On one hand,some people believe that competition is a good thing at workplaces,education and day to day routines as it increases the knowledge,confidence,rectify mistakes of individuals.For instance,a individual participating in competitions boosts there knowledge to get better results in competition.Therefore, supporters of this view argue that competitions is best thing as to helps to identify our peers knowledge and makes individuals to prepare accordingly.

On the other hand, others argue that individual need to try to cooperate not just by competing amongst each other.The main reason for this is that cooperating helps to resolve conflicts and makes individual work as a team together.For instance,to complete a task single individual knowledge is not enough,cooperating gives more scope for finishing the task quickly with reduced mistakes.I agree most with this perspective because copperating gives better outcomes rather than competition.As a result,every individual has healthy relationship ,coordinate tasks and share knowledge amongst each other.

In conclusion, although competition at workplaces,educatinal institutes and day to day life has certain advantages, I believe that cooperating with peers is more beneficial than just competing because cooperating makes individuals to share knowledge,distribute workload among them and finish the work together as a team.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and state a consistent preference for cooperation, especially in the introduction and conclusion. Relevant reasons include competition encouraging people to improve and cooperation helping teams resolve conflicts, share knowledge, and complete tasks. However, these points are brief and sometimes unclear: the competition example repeats the idea of gaining knowledge without showing a specific outcome, while the teamwork example could be developed with a concrete situation. The response also contains 242 words, so it is 8 words below the required minimum; 11 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Develop each view with a clearer explanation or example, and ensure the response meets the minimum length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The contrast markers “On one hand” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the discussion, and the final paragraph restates your position. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes repetitive or difficult to follow. For example, the first body paragraph moves from competition increasing knowledge to identifying peers’ knowledge without clearly connecting those claims. Several sentences also run together because spaces after commas and full stops are missing. Use clearer links between each reason and its example, and vary transitions rather than relying mainly on formulaic markers such as “For instance” and “As a result.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “resolve conflicts,” “coordinate tasks,” and “distribute workload.” These choices make your main ideas understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the response awkward—for example, “a individual participating in competitions boosts there knowledge” and “cooperating gives more scope.” Spelling errors such as “belive,” “copperating,” and “educatinal” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise phrases and check spelling carefully; for instance, describe how competition “motivates people to improve” and how cooperation “allows a team to complete tasks more efficiently.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause beginning “The main reason for this is that…” and a contrast introduced by “although” in the conclusion. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. The opening sentence is incomplete and combines two competing structures: “People have different opinions … is a good thing. While others believe…”. There are also agreement and article errors, as in “a individual” and “competitions is,” and the phrase “it improves individual knowledge” has an unclear reference. Use complete sentences with one clear subject and verb, check singular/plural agreement, and punctuate sentence boundaries consistently.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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