Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23

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)

The increasingly popularity of international sports events has raised a debate on the effect that they bring along them. People have the mixed opinion regarding the outcomes of highly popular events like Olympics and Football World Cup. Some believe that events like these brings a unity between countries around the globe. One the other hand, critics argue that these creates a sense of competition and unhealthy friendships rather than bringing countries together. However, I side with those who believe that these brings a genuine unity opportunities and can reduce the cultural gaps.

One the one side, international competitions can sometime brings negative competition. When counties play against each other, players care solely about winning only. This often results in making fans and players excessively aggresive or angry, which results in unhealthy sportsmenship. For instance- when two big name teams play a football match against each other, fans often argue and fight with each other, as they want thier country to win. Furthermore, some atheletes use illegal practices and substances in order to make thier country's team win , which resuilts in ruining global friendship.

On the other hand, i believe that sports events mostly help to build global friendships. These tournaments allows people from different cultures and regions to meet and understood each other, which leads in strengthening of cultural bonds and reducing gaps. For example- during the Olympics, players from conflicting nations still shake hands, hug and show respect to each other, which conveys a great message of peace to the world. Also, when tourists travel in order to watch games, they learn and experience new cultures , which help everybody to get along better.

In conclusion, despite having few demerits regarding the unfair competition and use of illegal techniques to win , I believe that the advantages these events bring like, reducing cultural gaps , promoting a peaceful unity message to the world . Moreover, the aid in tourism that it provides easily outweighs the disadvantages. I think that the shared love for sports bring nations together instead of separating them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that international sports events foster unity and that they breed competition and conflict—while clearly stating the writer's own opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the Olympics and football match behaviour. However, there is a tendency to over-generalise slightly in the supporting points, and some arguments lack deeper elaboration. For instance, the mention of illegal substances and athletes is introduced quickly without extensive connection to the overall theme of global friendship. Nevertheless, a clear position is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0. Because the main task requirements are met with a clear viewpoint and adequate development, this satisfies the Band 6 descriptor nicely, pushing into Band 7 elements due to the clear position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph-by-paragraph structure that moves logically from introduction to discussing opposing views, and finally to a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to signal shifts, such as 'One the one side,' 'On the other hand,' and 'In conclusion.' However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in minor errors like 'One the one side' instead of 'On the one side.' Paragraphing is used appropriately, but transitional phrases within paragraphs can feel repetitive or slightly unnatural. The logical progression is generally maintained, allowing the reader to follow the argument without significant confusion, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'excessively aggressive,' 'sportsmanship,' 'illegal substances,' and 'cultural bonds.' However, there are noticeable word-choice and spelling errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'increasingly' instead of 'increasing,' 'brings' instead of 'bring' (agreement issues bleeding into vocabulary perception), 'aggresive,' 'atheletes,' 'thier,' and 'resuilts.' While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect a lack of precision and control over less common lexical items, keeping the vocabulary score at a solid Band 6 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly concerning subject-verb agreement ('events like these brings,' 'competitions can sometime brings,' 'tournaments allows') and spelling/pronoun inconsistencies. Articles are also occasionally misused or omitted. Although the complex structures show an ambition to vary grammatical range, the persistence of these errors means that only a minority of sentences are entirely error-free, preventing the score from reaching Band 7. Communication is rarely impeded, but the grammatical control aligns best with a Band 6 descriptor.

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