Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06
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 people say that sports events which are played internationally such as The Olympics Or the Football World Cup, are a better way of bringing countries together bacause it improves overall relationships between various countries. Players spend most of their time talking to each other which makes their frienships better. However, some believe that such kind of events create competition, not frienship between countries because they always try to defeat other countries to make their own country proud. I personally believe that these events play a crutial role in bringing countries together.
To begin with, some people believe that some sports events such as The olympics or the Football World Cup, are a better way of making countries relationships stronger. This is because when various players spend time with each other, they share their thoughts, interests, cultures and languages. They show interest in each others countries and makes their frienship level better. For example, when The Indian Cricket team visited Pakistan for their tour, they bought various special things from pakistan for their families. As a result, it imrpoved their relationship with each other and started playing more matches.
On the other hand, others believe that sports events create competition between countries.because they represent their countries and their ego clashes. Moreover, the players always seen aggressive on the field. Additionally, they involve into sledging and verbal arguments with the opponent team. For example, The Australian Cricket team and The England have always been rivalries. As a result, they try to defeat other team at any cost. They get injured but still serve their countries.
To conclude, although some people believe that sports events create disputes, I believe that playing sports events together imrpoves overall countries relationships. It also improves trading between various countries
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that international sports events unite countries and that they create competition—and includes the writer's own opinion. However, some ideas are limited and under-developed. For instance, the argument that players spend most of their time talking to make friendships is superficial, and the supporting example regarding the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams is generalized rather than fully explained. Similarly, the points regarding rivalry and ego clashes in the second body paragraph lack deeper expansion. The position is stated, but the support remains somewhat basic, placing this aspect of the writing at the current level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
There is a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the essay into an introduction, two body paragraphs addressing opposing views, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transition 'To begin with' introduces the first body paragraph, but the internal referencing and transitional phrases between sentences can feel repetitive. Devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'To conclude' are employed to signal transitions, yet the logical progression between sentences occasionally falters due to abrupt shifts in ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating basic points about international sports and relationships. Attempts are made to use less common items such as 'crutial' and 'rivalries', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in spelling, word form, and word choice—for instance, spelling 'crucial' as 'crutial', 'because' as 'bacause', and 'friendships' as 'frienships'. Furthermore, lexical phrasing such as 'friendship level better' or 'imrpoves overall countries relationships' lacks natural collocation and precision. These errors do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing displays a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside some attempts at complex forms. These complex sentences are frequently faulty, containing errors such as missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and agreement issues, such as in 'The Australian Cricket team and The England have always been rivalries' and 'they involve into sledging'. Other errors include punctuation issues and typographical mistakes like 'imrpoves'. While a mix of sentence forms is attempted, frequent minor errors in grammar patterns cause occasional difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher rating.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.