Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-26

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)

Some people love to work alone, and they the competition work very amazing. People love to do competition and want to prove myself, they want to prove that they are better than others. On the other hand, we have people who love to work with each other or as a team to do the work. We will discuss each type of people and how they love to work.|

Firstly, let's talk about the people who think competition on every aspects of life is very important. Proving your point or yourself is very important to give yourself the feeling of acceptance that they are better than others. I think at work, at school and in daily life it totally depend upon the scenario. Let say you have the competition of programming at school, and it's optional to work as a team. Then proving yourself is the best option, people give exam alone.

Secondly, on the other hand working as a cooperate or team is also very important, just like cricket or football. You see people has to work together to play sport. And it's very important to understand each other and work as a team. Taking the care, understanding other points of view, unit and in discipline is very important. People find better when they work together. They find themselves more productive, more discipline and serious about their goals.

In conclusion i would like to say that it totally depend upon personal choice, either working as a team or individual, whatever way they acheive the results.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You introduce both competition and cooperation and give relevant examples, such as an individual programming exam and team sports. However, the discussion is only partial: the benefits of competition are not clearly explained, and the cooperation paragraph lists qualities without showing in detail why cooperation is valuable. Your conclusion says the choice depends on personal preference, but the task asks for your own view; this does not clearly weigh the two approaches or state when one is preferable. The response is also 3 words below the 250-word minimum, with 8 words copied from the prompt excluded from the count. Develop each side with a clear reason and example, then give a more definite, supported opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs beginning “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and a conclusion. This helps the reader identify the two views. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weak, and linking phrases can be repetitive or awkward: “Secondly, on the other hand” uses two signals for the same contrast. The opening also promises to discuss “each type of people” rather than setting out a clear line of argument, and the final paragraph does not fully connect back to the reasons given. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main point, link examples directly to that point, and use fewer, more precise transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “team,” “productive,” and “goals,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural, such as “the competition work very amazing,” “work as a cooperate,” and “People find better.” Repetition of “work,” “people,” and “important” also limits precision. Aim to use accurate topic-specific phrases and check whether words naturally combine in English. For example, describe competition as motivating people to “demonstrate their abilities,” and say that teams “perform better” or “achieve stronger results” when members cooperate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including conditional phrasing such as “If you have the competition of programming at school…” and a contrast between the two views. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “they the competition work,” “it totally depend,” “people has to work together,” and “whatever way they acheive the results.” These show problems with sentence construction, subject–verb agreement, and verb forms. There are also inconsistent pronouns, as in “people… prove myself.” Practise building complete clauses, matching verbs to their subjects, and checking pronoun reference; then proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.