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)

Some argue that we should compete in work, school or in any tast relevent to our work as it can help in brain storming. While on the contrery others oppose this idea saying they should cooperate . Both have there pros and cons and I'll be discussing both ideas.

On one hand, it is discussed that one should be compadative and take iniciative in the thoughts he sees going around. As I give a sence of satisfaction. Moreover, some induvisuals hate loosing and get frustrated when in a task. For example, a friend of mine is bad a handling losses in games and gets angry and aggresive. This is the disadvantage, if you don't have control on your nerves you should'nt be competitive.

On the other hand, being cooperative is an advantage for some as you can learn from others while knowing what ground you hold. Team work also helps it also removes the hate factor and is more understanable approch. Like how a CEO of a company acts like he knows everything while it is not possible to be good at everything and learns from his mistakes and his emploees.

To sum up I'd say if a person can control his emotions and can handle defeat he should be compeptive and learn from his mistakes, rather than converting it into hate, anger etc. Being cooperate is not all can do but, it is much benificial as you learn, lead, understand and takel tasks that alone could be proven some what dificult.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and give a personal view: competition can be useful when people manage defeat, while cooperation helps people learn and work together. The examples about your friend and a company CEO make the discussion relevant. However, the ideas are only partly developed. The competition paragraph focuses mainly on frustration and emotional control, with little explanation of how competition can improve performance at work or school. The cooperation paragraph mentions learning and teamwork, but the CEO example is unclear and does not fully show how cooperation benefits a group. Your conclusion gives a position, though it is qualified rather than firmly stated. Explain each view more fully and make your overall judgement clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Phrases such as “On one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To sum up” help signal the stages of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, “As I give a sence of satisfaction” is not clearly connected to the preceding point, and the sentence about the CEO combines several ideas without showing their relationship. Some linking is also mechanical, and references such as “it” in “Team work also helps it” are unclear. Build each paragraph around one main point, then explain and illustrate it in a clear sequence, using links and pronouns precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “cooperate,” “team work,” “competitive,” “satisfaction,” and “frustrated.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems make parts of the response difficult to read. Examples include “compadative,” “iniciative,” “hate factor,” and “more understanable approch.” Some expressions are also imprecise: “take initiative in the thoughts he sees going around” does not clearly convey the intended meaning, and “what ground you hold” is not a natural phrase in this context. Aim for accurate topic-specific expressions such as “strive to outperform others” and “share knowledge,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including conditional forms such as “if a person can control his emotions … he should be competitive.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors sometimes make the intended meaning hard to follow. For example, “Both have there pros and cons and I'll be discussing both ideas” has problems with sentence punctuation and the possessive form; “As I give a sence of satisfaction” is an incomplete sentence; and “Team work also helps it also removes the hate factor” joins clauses without suitable punctuation or a clear grammatical link. There are also errors in agreement and sentence construction, as in “Being cooperate is not all can do.” Practise complete clauses, accurate verb forms, and punctuation when joining ideas.

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