Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-22

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 of the big events like a Cricket or Football world cup and the olympics are very popular among nations to bring harmony and union between them and forgetting about their self interest but at the same time these events become a cause for countries to compete against each other and favoring one country over the other which is not good for the relations and ties. Today I am going to discuss about these viewpoints and would give my own person verdit on this issue.

Firstly, these events are a good source of enjoyment for people to go and watch their home country or the person associated with their country winning and competing against the other team player. And these events bring countries closer to each other and give them the opportunity to improve their diplomatic and foreign relations by listening to each other concerns.

Secondly, at the same time there are a group of people who say that such events only create competition and it make the other country or nation inferior against the team which won. Such kind of behaviour weak the relations between countries and distort their self image in the eyes of people.

In my point of view, These sport events should continue and remain open in the upcoming time but it should become a source of healthy competition instead of playing a blame game and harming tthe image of their own country which is participating in the sports events. As Winning and losing is the part of a game and it should not be taken as too serious and personal thing.

In Conclusion, these sports events that happens after many years are a great way to entertain the people of their respective countries participating and playing against the other team country and to improve the diplomatic and political relations within both countries but it should be kept in mind that there is an biginvolvement of competition which could be bad if those countries are considered enemy to each other instead of having friendly ties.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and give a clear overall opinion: international sports can build relationships, but competition should remain healthy. The discussion is relevant, and the point about events offering opportunities to improve diplomatic relations helps explain the positive view. However, the two sides are not developed equally or in much detail. The claim that a losing country may feel inferior is asserted rather than supported with a specific example or explanation, and the conclusion largely repeats earlier points. To strengthen the response, explain how shared participation can foster contact between nations, then show more precisely when rivalry might damage relations. A concrete example would make your reasoning more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting contrasting views, your opinion, and a conclusion. Sequencing phrases such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “In Conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, the first body paragraph moves from enjoyment to diplomacy without explaining the connection, while the final sentence combines several points into a long, difficult-to-follow statement. The introduction also announces that you will discuss the views rather than setting out your position directly. Use clearer topic sentences and develop one idea at a time, with pronouns and linking phrases that make the relationships between claims explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “diplomatic and foreign relations,” “healthy competition,” and “self image.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main ideas, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. For instance, “favoring one country over the other” does not clearly describe competition between teams, and “distort their self image” is an awkward way to express the effect of defeat. There are also spelling and word-form errors, such as “verdit” and “biginvolvement.” Aim for precise collocations and check spelling carefully; the vocabulary suggestions below offer more natural alternatives for some phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses joined with “but” and “which,” and your main meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation remain noticeable. For example, “it make the other country” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, while “these events that happens” also mismatches the plural subject and verb. The opening sentence is overloaded, making its relationships difficult to follow, and capitalisation is inconsistent in “In my point of view” and “As Winning.” Practise building shorter, controlled sentences first, then combine ideas with accurate clauses. Check agreement and article use during revision, and use punctuation to separate complete ideas.

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