Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The statement provides two contradictory approaches in our daily life, where some people think that competition is a good thing while others believe to cooperate each other would be more convenient. I have seen these two different views at a time though I have my own opinion that supports the second statement as cooperative mindset.

Competition at work or academic life gives more stressful condition which has both aspects as beneficial and harmful. Beneficial in context of getting prepare oneself more capable of doing the task, on the other hand, harmful in context of not able to perform as someone desires and brings him failure that makes both mental and physical stress. Competition with other may bring someone get the position but it may fail to meet someones' own potentialities which might be higher than his competitive thinkings. So, surely it won't end up with proper destinations.

Cooperation at any places bring happiness and mental peace which turns into physical relaxations. If someone help other solving his problems, it will come up with kinder approaches for the rest of the life when that someone needs some help from others. Helping is a nature of kindness, which is one of the key factors of humankind.

For example, once I had a train jouney where an old women standing beside me having no seat of her own. So I told her to sit till I had been coming back. The woman sat down and put off on the next station. The same incidents happened with my mother too, when she traveled for her work without having any seat, a young boy let her be seated on his seat. That's how cooperative minds helps to flowrish the society.

So from my perspective, when someone being cooperative with another one, the world become more beautiful and livable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both competition and cooperation and make your preference for cooperation clear in the opening and conclusion. The train-seat example also gives a relevant illustration of helping others. However, the discussion of competition is mainly framed as stressful and harmful, with only a brief mention that it can make people more capable; this positive view is not explained or supported. The cooperation argument is also broad, relying on kindness and personal anecdotes rather than showing in detail how cooperation benefits workplaces or schools. To strengthen the response, develop both sides more evenly with specific reasons and examples, and explain how your examples support your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs on competition and cooperation, an example, and a concluding opinion. This gives the reader an overall route through the discussion. Some links between ideas, however, are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “Beneficial in context…” and “on the other hand” introduce points without forming a complete, smoothly connected explanation, while “So, surely it won't end up with proper destinations” is difficult to connect to the preceding claim. The two train anecdotes are related, but their connection to the broader argument could be made more explicit. Use clearer topic sentences and refer back to the question’s settings—work, school, and daily life—to create more consistent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt vocabulary suited to the topic, including “competition,” “cooperative mindset,” “potentialities,” and “mental peace,” and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “more convenient” for cooperation, “proper destinations,” and “flowrish the society.” Spelling errors such as “jouney” and “women” (where “woman” is intended) also reduce accuracy. Some expressions are repeated, particularly “help” and “cooperative.” Build a more precise range by learning common combinations such as “foster cooperation,” “increase pressure,” and “achieve one’s potential,” and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses with “which” and conditional structures such as “If someone help other…”. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “some people think that competition is a good thing while others believe to cooperate each other,” “Competition at work or academic life gives more stressful condition,” and “when someone being cooperative… the world become.” These show problems with verb forms, sentence construction, articles, and subject–verb agreement. Practise building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and tense. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to understand.

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