Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-29

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)

A number of argue that, competition is a good thing in daily life including at work or at school, while others believe that, cooperation is more needed instead of competing against one another because it will help the people to grow together and bringing the harmony in the society. Although, competition will help to determine goals and getting pleasure for achieving that, I firmly believe that, cooperating with each other will enhance the societies overall wellbeing.

On the one hand, some people support the idea of competing in daily life which includes the works that are invloving in their day to day life because, it will help them to target their aim and chase those goals to achieve that. The urge to achieve the goals will lead to bring successful result and also bring pleasure to their mind. For example, at school there are ranking system for students and also award present to the students who achieve highest rank. Likewise, at work there is an evaluating system for each employee by which all the staffs are get evaluated and those who do better or excellent in the work can get promotion, whereas who can't do better sometimes company cut off them from that post. Therefore, competition is ongoing and many people prefer competiting with each other by which one can achieve greater result.

On the other hand, others believe that, cooperation is more needed as it will help the people in a society to grow together and ensuring the wellbeing in the society. Since,all people are not equal because we all have some limitation in different sector also, we all have to earn our livelihood that's why, helping each other will ensure that no people are suffering and they can live in the society prosperously. For instances, helping people to their work, cooperating to know and solve their issues will lead to harmony among peoples so that no one will be suffering in the negligence. I agree with this point of view, because at the end of the day looking at a society which is full of properous will give a peace in the mind.

In conclusion, while competition will help to determine goals and getting pleasure for achieving that,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both perspectives and state a clear preference for cooperation, especially in the introduction and the paragraph beginning “On the other hand.” The examples of school rankings and workplace promotion make the competition argument relevant, while your points about mutual support and social harmony address cooperation. However, the discussion is only partly developed: the benefits of competition are mainly described as goal-setting and pleasure, and the cooperation paragraph relies on broad claims rather than a specific, explained example. The conclusion is unfinished and repeats the competition point without restating your opinion, so the response does not fully resolve the discussion. Develop each side with a clearer explanation of consequences and complete the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and an attempted conclusion. “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help signal the change in perspective, and the examples generally follow the claims they support. However, progression within sentences and between ideas is often difficult to follow. Several connectors are used mechanically or inaccurately, such as “Since” at the start of a sentence that is not completed as a dependent clause, and “Therefore” before a conclusion that does not clearly follow. The final paragraph stops mid-sentence, weakening the overall progression. Use fewer, more precise linking expressions, make each paragraph’s main point explicit, and finish with a complete summary of your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “achieve,” “promotion,” and “harmony,” and you attempt some less common expressions such as “livelihood” and “wellbeing.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning awkward: for example, “bring the harmony,” “award present,” and “a peace in the mind.” There are also spelling errors, including “invloving,” “properous,” and “competiting.” These issues fit a response with a minimally adequate but noticeably inconsistent vocabulary range. Build accuracy by learning common word partnerships and checking spelling; prefer natural phrases such as “promote social harmony” and “feel at peace.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “which,” and “whereas.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to process. Examples include “A number of argue,” “all the staffs are get evaluated,” and “Since, all people are not equal,” where sentence structure, verb forms, or agreement are not controlled. Articles and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “there are ranking system” and the comma after “Although.” The conclusion is incomplete, leaving a dependent clause unfinished. Practise building accurate sentences with one main clause and a clearly attached subordinate clause, then check verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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