Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-30

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 is a debate about nature of competition in society and people have different viewpoints about them. Some agree that competing for your goals in life is a good thing whereas some believe that it causes a sense of grudge among people against each other so competition should be avoided and a support system should be encouraged among them.

I agree that both the stances are somehow correct but many people dont understand the full contextual meaning behind them. According to my point of view, competition is a sign of showing enthusiasm in a person's life where he is serious about his goals and will work hard to achieve them. It represents the strength of their passion like if we take example of a child at school. He is trying to achieve good marks in order to get a good position among his class for that he had to work hard and also compete with his classfellows. The condition lies here is that although he is trying his best to reach towards his goal he is not allowed to follow a wrong path or do something unethical like cheating which is against the rules in order to achieve it. This is just a small example but often in workplaces collegues are always competing against each other for promotion or anything like that and it happens that to get that position they follow malicious practices and often cross the line between ethical and unethical values just to win their target and defeat their opponent.

In these cases the second view point comes in between which discourages competition among people and suggest that instead of working against each other people should support and help each other. Value each others presence and try to make ease for everyone instead of creating unecessary issues. Competition is good but if you work hard, strive and achieve your goal without compromising on your moral values then the result you get is valued.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both competition and cooperation and give a personal view: competition can motivate people, but it should not involve unethical behaviour. The school example supports the first view, and the workplace example illustrates how rivalry can become harmful. However, the discussion is uneven: cooperation is introduced mainly in the final paragraph and is not developed with a specific example or explanation of when it is more effective. Your position is also somewhat qualified rather than consistently stated; “both the stances are somehow correct” does not clearly establish how you weigh the two views. Develop the benefits of cooperation and state your overall judgement more directly in the introduction and conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to competition, then cooperation and a concluding judgement. Examples generally follow the points they are intended to support. However, progression is not always clear: the long second paragraph combines your opinion, a school example, a warning about cheating, and workplace misconduct. This makes the central argument harder to follow. Some links are also awkward or unclear, such as “The condition lies here” and “In these cases the second view point comes in between.” Use separate paragraphs for the two views, with a clear topic sentence for each, and make the relationship between examples and claims explicit. A more direct concluding sentence would also give the response a stronger sense of completion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss the topic, including “enthusiasm,” “passion,” “promotion,” “malicious practices,” and “moral values.” These choices help convey the contrast between healthy ambition and harmful rivalry. There are, however, several imprecise or unnatural expressions, such as “a sense of grudge,” “reach towards his goal,” and “make ease for everyone.” Spelling and word-form slips, including “collegues,” “unecessary,” and “view point,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, describe resentment as a feeling people may develop, and use established phrases such as “achieve a goal” or “make things easier for others.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “whereas,” “although,” and “in order to,” so the response shows some structural variety. Meaning is generally understandable, but errors occur in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For instance, “people have different viewpoints about them” has an unclear pronoun reference, while “The condition lies here is that” is not a well-formed clause. In “the second view point … discourages competition … and suggest,” the subject and verb do not agree. Several sentences are also very long and joined with commas, especially the school and workplace discussion. Break these into shorter sentences and check each clause for a clear subject and correctly matched verb.

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