Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-21

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that international sports events, such as The Olympics or the Football World Cup, are a good way to bring countries together. Others say that these events create competition, not friendship, between countries.

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)

Many people say that countries become close when they participate in an international sports events while others belive that it creates competition between countries. In my opinion, having humble nature would bring their friendship closer rather than making them as an enemy.

First of all, during The Olympics or The Football World Cup, we observe people travel internationally to watch their desired team or player perform, which in return promotes tourism in the host country. Players and fans experience the international cultures and hospitality offered by them that provides support in building healthy relationship with other countries. Moreover, it promotes globalisation and open multiple business opportunities between countries when political pressure is reduced during these events.

However, during the events the home players sometimes get biased decision instead of a fair play, because of their host country. In that situation, opponents might get offended and creates tension between players and their country. It also results in an aggressive behaviour from players and their fans, which affects players performance during the game and they might get banned for any such rude behaviours. People start viewing such players as enemies and results a destroyed career in sports. When the sports event turns too intense in the climax of the decision, people are affected mentally to observe opponents as enemies instead of considering them as opponent players. Their vision blocks out their gameplay and priorities their supporting player or team winning.

In conclusion, international sports events boost local economy and promote globalisation by building friendship when people observe sports as a friendly event instead of turning them into enemies.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that international sports events bring countries together and that they create competition—while also providing a clear personal opinion in the introduction. The ideas are generally relevant, such as the discussion on tourism, globalisation, and referee bias leading to tension. However, some arguments in the third paragraph, particularly regarding mental health and destroyed careers, are slightly exaggerated and under-developed in terms of direct logical support. The position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement with an introduction, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion, which demonstrates a recognizable organizational structure. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct ideas, such as the benefits of sports events versus the potential negative competitive aspects. Cohesive devices are employed, although some referencing is occasionally unclear or mechanical, such as the transition phrases 'First of all' and 'Moreover'. While progression is generally maintained, some sentences within the third paragraph feel repetitive and slightly disjointed, which places the cohesion securely at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'globalisation', 'hospitality', and 'biased decision'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'participate in an international sports events' (singular/plural mismatch), 'having humble nature', 'creates tension', and 'results a destroyed career'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the inaccuracies in phrasing and word formation occasionally require the reader to interpret the intended meaning, reflecting the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors in the text, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'opponents might get offended and creates tension', missing articles such as 'observes opponents as enemies instead of considering them as opponent players', and awkward prepositional usage. Although these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.0 appropriate.

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