Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-28

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 4.0)

Competition breeds innovation. Take an example of Artificial Intelligence. If all companies did not compete in an AI race between nations they wont have anything to encourage them keep on inventing. Claude excelled in coding, Gemini excelled in natural speech and android integration. This wouldn't be possible if it was only one company doing all the work. If all students focused on doing a teamwork, the talented students who has potential to excell will be wasting their talent watiting for students to catch up who may excell in other subjects.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response gives a relevant argument for competition, using AI companies and students as examples, and the opening claim that competition “breeds innovation” establishes a clear view in favour of it. However, the task asks you to discuss both competition and cooperation and give your opinion. Cooperation is only briefly mentioned through “doing a teamwork”; its benefits are not explained, and your own position is not developed in relation to both views. The examples also need fuller explanation to show how they support the argument. The response is substantially below the required 250 words, so it cannot provide the breadth of discussion and support the task requires. Develop both sides, state your view explicitly, and add relevant reasons and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The ideas follow a basic sequence: a claim about innovation, an AI example, and then a point about students. This gives the short response some overall direction. However, it is presented as one paragraph, and the shift from AI companies to student teamwork is abrupt. Connections between the examples and the main argument are not always made explicit; for instance, explain how the AI examples demonstrate the value of competition before moving to education. There are few linking expressions or clear stages of discussion, and the response does not organise the two sides of the question separately. Use paragraphs for the competing views and your conclusion, with clear transitions and references that show how each example supports the point.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “competition,” “innovation,” “AI race,” “coding,” and “teamwork,” and the examples make your meaning generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “android integration.” However, the range is narrow for this task, and some expressions are imprecise or awkward: “doing a teamwork” is not a natural collocation, while “excelled in natural speech” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “excell” and “watiting” also reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of terms for cooperation and competition, and check collocations and spelling. More precise wording would help you explain the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response includes simple statements and some attempts at longer conditional structures, such as “If all companies did not compete … they wont have anything to encourage them.” This shows an effort to express cause and effect, but control is inconsistent. In that sentence, the conditional form and modal tense do not align; “would not have” is needed in the result clause. There are also agreement and verb-form errors in “students who has potential” and “for students to catch up who may excell.” The final sentence is long and difficult to follow because its clauses are not clearly arranged. Use a wider range of sentence patterns, but keep each sentence controlled, checking subject–verb agreement, conditional forms, and punctuation.

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