Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-25

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)

While some individuals believe that competition at work, at school and in daily life is beneficial. Other people think that we should try to team up more rather than challenging each others. I believe that there should a sense of competition at work, rather than at school and in your daily life.

On the one hand, people who believe that competition at work place or at school is a good thing. As competition always give more chances of success. If there is no competition then you will be stucked in that phase. For example in a office if there is a no competition among the employees how a that company can grow or developed, competitive people are always succeed in their life.

On the other, people who believe that competition is not a good thing rather than competing against each other, people should have to work together. As if there is a sense of competition this can increase the sense of jealousy and depressed in other people with which you are competing. For example if there is a competition between students at school one student secure more marks than other, then there is a feeling of jealousy will come and the student that score less marks will feel depressed.

In conclusion, competition at work, at school or in daily life is beneficial while others think that people should focus more cooperating than competing against each other. I believe that there should be competition, it should be at work not at school or in your daily life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and state a personal position: competition is useful at work but not at school or in daily life. The examples about employee performance and students’ marks are relevant, but the arguments are brief and sometimes unclear; for instance, “competition always give more chances of success” is asserted without explaining how competition produces success. The conclusion repeats the position but does not resolve or develop the reasoning. The response is also below the required minimum: it contains 245 words, and the 11 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To strengthen the response, explain each view more fully and support your distinction between workplaces and schools with clearer reasoning or a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. “On the one hand” and “On the other” help signal the contrast, and the reader can generally follow the main position. However, progression within paragraphs is limited: several ideas are joined in long, unclear sentences, particularly the office example, and the conclusion largely repeats the introduction rather than drawing the discussion together. Some linking is mechanical, such as repeated use of “As” to begin explanations, while references such as “that phase” are not sufficiently clear. Organise each body paragraph around one main claim, then explain and illustrate it in a clear sequence; use linking expressions only where they show a genuine relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “employees,” “jealousy,” and “depressed.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning awkward: “team up more rather than challenging each others,” “a sense of competition,” and “secure more marks” are examples. Repetition of “competition” and “people” also reduces variety. Aim to learn useful phrases as complete collocations and choose words that express the intended relationship precisely. For example, you could describe employees as “striving to outperform one another” and students as “achieving higher marks.” Check spelling and word forms as well, including “each other” and “workplace.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts to use complex structures, including conditional sentences (“If there is no competition…”) and clauses introduced by “while” and “with which.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include the incomplete opening construction “While some individuals believe… . Other people think…,” “there should a sense,” and “competition always give,” where sentence structure or subject–verb agreement is faulty. The office example also contains several errors that obscure its meaning. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with one clear subordinate clause. Pay particular attention to complete sentences, agreement, articles, and consistent sentence punctuation.

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