Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03

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)

International sports events have been well known for many years ago such as the Olympics and the Football World Cup around the world that many countries' teams can join. Some say these kinds of big sporting events could draw positive and negative attention from many.

To begin with, in my opinion, I have seen some events create competition rather than sportsmanship. I watched the last Football World Cup this year, in 2026, and I saw some bias towards other teams like Argentina, who lost their match against Spain. Their play was not that clean, trying to play dirty tactics just to get first place. It drew a lot of attention from people worldwide who criticized them for subduing the opponent. Paying the referee just to give them all the rights, even though it doesn't abide by international football sports law.

On the other hand, I think multinational sports events could be a way for different countries to come together. Through the producers and organizers, connecting many teams all around the world has had a huge impact worldwide, to let their citizen in their countries to play and show their talent. A lot of people travel to support their favourite players. Even a person who is not from the same background can watch it all together.

To conclude, sports create competition, show their skills on the field, and most of the time end up in rivalry rather than friendship. However, fans come together to support their team, that build togetherness worldwide.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both views on international sports events and provides a personal opinion, fitting the requirements for this level. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion on the negative side of sports relies on a specific, slightly unclear anecdote about a match in 2026, claiming that a team was trying to play dirty tactics and even alleging referee corruption without sufficient generalisation or support. The position is stated, but the arguments lack the extension and depth needed to fully explore the prompt. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to present broader, more reasoned arguments rather than relying on brief, specific examples that are not fully elaborated.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical organisation to the response, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing each viewpoint, and a conclusion. However, overall progression is not always clear, and the links between sentences can feel mechanical or slightly abrupt, such as the transition into the final paragraph. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow within paragraphs like the second body section suffers from disconnected ideas, moving rapidly from match commentary to general audience reactions and then to allegations of rule-breaking. Cohesive devices are used somewhat repetitively or inadequately. Achieving a higher band would require clearer referencing, smoother transitions between distinct ideas, and a more robust overall progression that guides the reader seamlessly through the arguments.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as sportsmanship, multinational, and organizers. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'subduing the opponent' or 'give them all the rights', which sound unnatural in this context. While communication is generally maintained despite these errors, the range remains restricted. To reach the next band, the writer should focus on expanding their lexical repertoire with precise, natural collocations and ensuring that less common vocabulary is used accurately to convey nuances of meaning without awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text displays a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent attempts at complex sentences that often turn out faulty or cumbersome. For example, sentences like 'International sports events have been well known for many years ago such as the Olympics...' contain awkward phrasing and grammatical awkwardness. There are frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions inside grammatical patterns, and punctuation, such as sentence fragments ('Even a person who is not from the same background can watch it all together.'). These errors can occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over complex grammar patterns, ensure correct subject-verb agreement, and reduce the frequency of basic structural errors.

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