Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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 believe that international sports events like The Olympics and the Football WorldCup are ways to bring unity among countries. The reason for this believe is because historically sports serve as recreational activity people love doing which provide interactions among people. It is easier to make friends with people when you are aware that you love the same sports with them. Also when it comes to going for sporting events like the WorldCup or The Olympics. A lot of people travel around the world to watch these matches. For example someone sitting next to you in a stadium from a foreign country, might also be supporting your team. This is one way of interacting with people and sharing your views about the team, and the sports.

There are other people who believe that sports events create competition among countries. I think the reason that brought about that opinion is that when it comes to sports, competition is subjective. In the world we live in, sports creates competition. I hear a lot of football fans arguing on who is skillful and talented between Ronaldo and Messi. This can create tension among people. There have been times this has led to breakups in friendships because the other was on an opposing team.

In my opinion I believe that these sporting events like The Olympics and the Football WorldCup had led to unity and cooperation between countries. Sports bring people together no matter the background, ethnicity or race which people came from because it is an activity people enjoy doing.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state your own position: you explain how spectators can interact across nationalities, acknowledge that sporting rivalries can create tension, and conclude that sport promotes unity. These points are relevant, but the discussion is only partly developed. The first view is supported with a stadium example, while the opposing view relies mainly on arguments between fans about Ronaldo and Messi and a brief mention of friendships ending. This does not fully explain how international events themselves may intensify competition between countries. Your opinion is clear in the final paragraph, but it would be stronger if you explained why cooperation outweighs rivalry and supported that reasoning with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces the unity view, moves to the competition view, and ends with your opinion. Paragraphing helps the reader distinguish these parts, and examples generally follow the points they illustrate. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical or unclear. For example, “The reason for this belief is because” repeats the causal link, while “In the world we live in, sports creates competition” restates the preceding claim rather than advancing it. The transition from international events to arguments between individual football fans also needs a clearer connection. Use linking phrases selectively and make each sentence develop the paragraph’s central idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “unity,” “interactions,” “competition,” “tension,” and “opposing team.” Some choices show an attempt to discuss the topic beyond basic description. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or repetitive, which keeps the wording from being consistently precise. “Sports serve as recreational activity” and “sports creates competition” are awkward, while “skillful and talented” repeats similar qualities. The spelling “WorldCup” should be written as “World Cup,” and repeated references to “sports events” could be varied. Aim for natural collocations and more precise terms for international rivalry, cooperation, and spectators’ relationships.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “because,” “when,” and “which.” Meaning is generally understandable, but errors are frequent and some complex constructions are faulty. For example, “The reason for this believe is because” has an incorrect noun form and an awkward clause structure; “sports serve as recreational activity people love doing which provide interactions” has problems with articles, agreement, and clause attachment. There are also agreement errors in “sports creates” and “the other was on an opposing team.” The fragment beginning “Also when it comes to going for sporting events” is not a complete sentence. Practise building complete sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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