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 significant number number of people argue that competition at professions, at school, and in everyday life is a important thing while, others believe that we should endeavor to cooperate more instead of competing each other. From my perspective, both are crucial for people at professional life, study life, and in a daily life. I will discuss some possible causes about essay.

There are a number of reasons why some individuals think that competition is a good thing for every sector. One possible reason is that it can help to achieve their ambition. This is because they can focus more on their work or assignments for example, when a student compete with others to become a first boy in a exam it can assist to attention more their study and achieve their goal. Another reason is that competition can help to enhance their skills and build a perfect status. To clarify, if any employee compete with colleagues in an office or workplace it is an essential thing becoming a best employee or create an opportunity for promotion. As an illustration, competition can encourage people's to work and get inspiration for complete office work or regular file it can create a chance to promoting and best employee.

Conversely, there are some benefits and drawbacks when people try to cooperate more, rather than competing with others. Firstly, cooperate can play a vital role to make a good person at work, at school, and in a society. To cite an example, when an employee collaborate with colleagues or a student with classmates it can build a strong bonding to themselves or it can create a chance to making friendship. However, it can make a lazy or disqualified from a race, if they cannot competition with others. For instance, people less focus on work or daily life activities so it can be harmful for their career or goals.

In conclusion, there are many benefits and a few problems. But I believe both are important at professional life, study life, and in daily life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the discussion by giving reasons for competition, such as helping people pursue ambitions and improve their skills, and for cooperation, such as building relationships. Your final view—that both are important—is also stated. However, the position is not fully clear or consistently explained: the introduction says both are crucial, while the cooperation paragraph introduces a drawback without explaining how it affects your overall judgement. Several points remain under-developed, and some examples are difficult to interpret, such as the student competing to become “a first boy.” Develop each main idea with a clear explanation and a relevant, specific example, and make your opinion more decisive throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “Conversely,” “Firstly,” and “In conclusion” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is often unclear because ideas are repeated or linked mechanically. The competition paragraph, for example, moves from ambition to skills and promotion, then repeats the idea of workplace encouragement in another example. Some references are also difficult to follow, including “it can build a strong bonding to themselves.” Organise each paragraph around one main point, explain it in a logical sequence, and use pronouns only when their reference is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “ambition,” “skills,” and “promotion,” and the reader can generally identify your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate, which sometimes makes ideas difficult to understand. Examples include “competition at professions,” “a perfect status,” and “a first boy in a exam.” There is also repetition of broad terms such as “important” and “work.” Build a more precise set of topic phrases and check how words combine naturally; this will help you express the contrast between individual achievement and shared effort more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including explanations introduced by “This is because” and examples beginning “when.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction can make the meaning harder to follow. For instance, “a student compete” needs subject–verb agreement, while “if any employee compete” has the same problem; “a important thing” also has an article error. Some clauses are joined without clear grammatical control, as in the long sentence beginning “As an illustration.” Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then build longer sentences with clear clause boundaries and consistent verb forms.

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.