Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-27

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)

There are opinions that divided people where some believe that having a competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. While other believe that cooperation is better, rather than competing against each other. In my opinion both views have their own benefits but having competition in any aspect of life either it is work or studies is necessary because it gives sense of self believe, confidence and teach discipline in long term.

Having competition in different aspects of life helps individual to have set some goals in their life, to show their ability and give chance to shine among all. It is the reason that students work hard in their studies, employees to deal with challenges. Moreover if there is no competition nobody care if their skills or ability matter, because everybody would be treated same.

For instance, if two students have been given the same task to complete, if there is no grading how would they develop their competitive spirit to perform well so they could win.

Although many people think that we should try to cooperate rather than competing because it can help to many individuals who faces hardship when they faces competition. But it is not a better option in a long time because they might not be able to explore themselves or how to better if there is no any competition in life.

In conclusion, having competition in life plays an important role and it helps individual to be determined in their life and challange themselves to be e a better person. It teaches them discipline and having a competition in life is beneficial for their personal growth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear preference for competition, explaining that it can build confidence, discipline and motivation, and you include a relevant example involving students completing the same task. However, the discussion of cooperation is brief: you say it can help people who struggle with competition, but do not explain how cooperation benefits a group or provide a supporting example. Some claims, such as people being treated the same without competition, are also unclear or insufficiently explained. The response therefore addresses both views, but not in equal depth, and the supporting ideas remain limited. To strengthen the response, develop the cooperation argument and explain more fully how competition produces the personal growth you describe. The response meets the stated length requirement; 13 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting competition, a paragraph acknowledging cooperation, and a conclusion. This gives the reader a basic route through your argument, and transitions such as “Moreover,” “Although,” and “In conclusion” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear. For example, the point that “everybody would be treated same” does not clearly follow from the claim about competition, and the student example repeats the idea of performing well without extending it. The contrast paragraph is also short and its reasoning is difficult to follow. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and organise the two viewpoints in more balanced, focused paragraphs. This would make cohesion less mechanical and the overall argument easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “competitive spirit,” “challenges,” and “personal growth,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated use of “competition,” “life,” and “better,” and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear. Examples include “self believe” for confidence or self-belief, “shine among all,” and “explore themselves,” which do not express your intended meaning naturally. There are also spelling errors such as “challange.” Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling, while avoiding repetition through suitable alternatives such as “rivalry,” “collaboration,” or “personal development.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “Although” and a conditional question about students completing a task. However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to process. For example, “While other believe” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “it gives sense of self believe … and teach discipline” contains problems with articles and agreement. The sentence beginning “if two students have been given” is also awkwardly constructed and punctuated. In the cooperation paragraph, “individuals who faces hardship when they faces competition” shows repeated agreement errors. Practise building shorter, accurate sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries during revision.

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.