Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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)

Some individuals think that international sports event, such as The olympics or the Football World Cup, are a good way to bring countries together, while others believe that these events create competition, not friendship, between countries. I believe that playing sports with foreign countries makes a strong bond between them because players have a chance to meet international players and they share their culture with each other to know more about each country.

On the one hand, some people believe that international sports are very benficial for countries to unite. This is because sports person has a chance to meet other foreign players. The players spend most of time together during an event so they share a strong bond through communication and learn some skills from each other. Furthermore, they represent their culture by their clothes, the food they eat and the langyage they use for communication. Thererfore, every one represent their country and identity to other player. For example, the study concluded that those countries who send their players to every international tournaments had a strong bonding between them.

On the other hand, some individuals believe that international sports tour do not promote friendship rather it just creates a competition among them. This is because they people always think of winning the game and they lack the sportmanspirit. Moreover, there only concentration is on competing with their opponents. Therefore, these events create distance between countries as their players are not interested in making friends from other countries. For instance, a recent survey concluded that a significant amount of loss in sports budget for those countries who did not participate in international sports tours. However, I agree these trips should be planned for players every year so they have an international exposure and they learn and teach skills related to sports so that it creates a harmony between them.

In conclusion, although the international sports events do not create a friendship between countries, I believe these events are good for countries to bring them together in one platform because players share their culture and represent their country in a good way as they share a strong bond with each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on international sports events and providing an opinion, though some ideas are more fully developed than others. The introduction outlines both perspectives and states a clear position. In the body paragraphs, arguments regarding cultural exchange and competition are presented, but some points lack sufficient depth or supporting evidence. For instance, the claim that a study concluded a loss in sports budgets is somewhat unclear and under-developed. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to extend and support all main ideas with more convincing and logically relevant examples rather than relying on generalised statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, using standard transitional markers such as 'On the one hand' and 'In conclusion'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical and repetitive, particularly with phrases like 'This is because' and 'For instance'. Referencing can also be slightly confusing, as seen in the concluding summary where the writer states that sports events do not create friendship, which appears to contradict their earlier stated opinion. To improve cohesion further, the writer should vary cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that the logical progression of ideas remains consistent from the body paragraphs through to the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to discuss complex ideas about international sports and cultural exchange. However, the range is limited and noticeable errors occur in word choice, spelling, and word form, such as 'benficial', 'sports person', 'langyage', 'Thererfore', and 'sportmanspirit'. These errors, alongside collocation slips like 'make a strong bond' instead of 'forge a strong bond', restrict the score. To achieve a higher lexical band, the writer should expand their vocabulary range by incorporating more precise, less common items with correct spelling and accurate collocations to enhance style and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over sentence structures. However, frequent errors in grammar and punctuation appear throughout the text, including pluralisation and article errors such as 'international sports event' instead of 'events', subject-verb agreement issues like 'there only concentration is', and prepositions in grammatical patterns. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they prevent the writing from achieving greater accuracy. To progress, the writer should focus on reducing basic grammatical slips, ensuring correct subject-verb agreement, and exercising better control over complex sentence constructions.

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