Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-03

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)

Certain individual believe that competition at particular section on regular basic is a good thing; whereas others counter-claim and state that it should be cooperate instead of the competing with each others. Therefore, prior to my decision, both the views are elaborated in the following paragraphs.

Discussing the former views, the formost argument put forward by the supporters is competing with each others may affect on the mental health because it pressurise the people to better than the others. Moreover, it may not give the accurate result because everyone is not good at everything. For example, a student did not score good at the academic, also he play sports excellent but his parents compare with other student at school work which may affect on his mental health. Hence, person has both negative and positive side.

On the contrary, the proponants of the latter notion advocate that competition show the actual position of the person at particular section. Which is beneficail for the person to improve there weaker section that is possible competing with others. furthermore, individual can learn more new strategies from others. For example, a employe working with dedication and doing hard work and there are a lot of employes are doing same for the promotion at that time the competiton between them shows the most hard working person get promotion and they deserved it. As a result, competition is good at same level of the work.

To conclude and offer my opinion, I would firmly bolster the first view competition may affect on the mental health, second not show the accurate result of the person rather than the people knows the weakness and learn new strategy from others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both sides of the topic and give examples, including the student whose strengths differ across school and sport, and the employees competing for promotion. However, the discussion does not consistently match the views in the prompt: the first body paragraph presents reasons competition can be harmful, while the second gives reasons it can be beneficial, but the opening labels these positions unclearly. Your conclusion says you support the first view, yet then refers to learning from others, so your final position is difficult to identify. Several ideas are asserted rather than explained, such as how competition reveals a person’s position. State your opinion clearly in the introduction and conclusion, and develop each main reason with a direct explanation and relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting arguments, and a conclusion. Paragraphs generally stay focused on one side, and examples help illustrate the points. However, progression within sentences and between ideas is sometimes unclear. For instance, “Which is beneficial for the person to improve there weaker section” is a fragment, and the conclusion combines several ideas without showing how they support your opinion. Linking phrases such as “On the contrary” and “As a result” are used, but some connections are not logical or precise. Improve cohesion by making each paragraph’s main point explicit, using pronouns with clear references, and ensuring that each linking expression accurately describes the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “mental health,” “strategies,” “promotion,” and “dedication,” and you use some formal expressions such as “advocate” and “prior to.” However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “competition at particular section,” “pressurise the people to better,” and “shows the actual position.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, such as “formost,” “proponants,” “beneficail,” and “competiton.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than more elaborate phrasing: for example, use “competition in certain areas,” “pressure people to perform better,” and “indicates a person’s ability.” Proofread spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast introduced by “whereas” and examples introduced by “For example.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and frequent errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries can make the argument hard to follow. For example, “Certain individual believe” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “Which is beneficial…” is an incomplete sentence. In “a student did not score good … also he play sports,” the clauses are not joined correctly and the verb forms are inconsistent. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, check singular and plural agreement, and use conjunctions or punctuation to connect related clauses accurately.

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