Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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)

Many countries believe international sports are interesting path to bring new friendships whille, some countries think international sports can only be competitive. International sports are popular among many countries. As an example Olympic sports event, Footballl, Rugby and Cricket are very popular in most of the countries.

Many countires are participating to international sports not just to compete and win the world cup. People are interesting in making new friends around the world and share their experience with others. As an example when some lower rating sportman participating an international event like Olympic, they can watch how other good players in relavent sports actually practice and how they workout to achieve their goal. It is not only a competition for many people. They try to learn new things and even good players also helping others to grow their hidden skills.

Even many poeple believe international sports events are a good oppertunity to make new friendships, some people believe these events are only for competition. The reason for this because, some countries practice a long time only to achieve world cup in a Football match or first place in sports event. People believe their goal is to get a gold medal or bring the world cup back to their country. It is purely competitive and when this repeat between few countries, it became competition. They always try harder for next year to win a world cup or get a gold medal without helping others.

In conclusion, eventhough some countries believe that international sports events are purely competitive, I believe international sports events are more likely to bring countries together. Make new friendships, achieve goals with other teams, helping each other without dropping others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and state your own position clearly in the conclusion: you acknowledge that some countries focus on winning, but argue that events are more likely to bring countries together. The examples about less highly ranked athletes observing others’ training and countries pursuing medals are relevant to the discussion. This meets the task well overall. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained: for instance, the claim that athletes help others develop hidden skills would be stronger with a specific example of cooperation, and the competitive view could explain more clearly how rivalry affects relations between countries. Develop these ideas with concrete examples and clearer cause-and-effect reasoning to make the discussion more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that returns to your opinion. This gives the reader a basic route through the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and linking phrases are repetitive or awkward. For example, “As an example” appears more than once, while “Even many people believe…” does not clearly signal the contrast intended. The final sentence, “Make new friendships, achieve goals with other teams,” is also disconnected from the preceding sentence and reads like a list rather than a complete conclusion. Use clearer topic sentences, vary linking expressions, and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “international sports events,” “competition,” “gold medal,” and “world cup,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “hidden skills” and “achieve their goal.” However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make the writing less natural: “interesting path,” “lower rating sportman,” and “practice a long time” are unclear or imprecise, while “whille,” “countires,” and “oppertunity” are misspelled. Aim for accurate topic-specific phrases such as “a platform for international cooperation” and “highly ranked athletes,” and proofread spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a concession in “Even many people believe…,” and most of the intended meaning can be followed. However, control of sentence structure and grammatical forms is inconsistent. For example, “People are interesting in making new friends” needs a different adjective form, and “when this repeat between few countries, it became competition” has problems with the verb form, tense, and sentence construction. The conclusion also contains fragments: “Make new friendships…” and “helping each other…” are not complete sentences. Practise building accurate complex sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check articles, agreement, and tense consistency when editing.

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.