Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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 feel that the best way to enhance relations between countries are the international sports. However, some discriminate this idea by stating that these events can only create chaos and conflicts. In my opinion, International sporting events have both advantages and disadvantages.

First of all, The benefits of these occasions are, It helps in build up relationships among athletes. They can learn about different culture, traditions, and languages which is good for the overall performance of the players. Secondly, The government of each nation works together to organise these special events which promotes strength to suggest their thoughts and idea. Thirdly, The countries can understands the economic situation of the other nation and they can provide strategies for better budget planning.

However, these events sometime can be the cause of rivalry because there is a chances of more competition which leads to poor relationships between players. In addition, countries can be only focus on welfare of their own players which can create frustration among the teams. for example, India and Pakistan always play like they are a big enemies. Also, these events can create big problems because of language and this makes player feel less secure and less supportive during the competitions.

Moreover, The countries belongs from small continent does not even get chance to participate due to low-income status and less resources which leads to conflict and disorders.

As a result, in my opinion every coin has both sides. So, if these events create good relationships, on other hand it could be a reason of bad friendship as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a relevant, balanced response and give your own view that international sporting events can have both positive and negative effects. The discussion of athletes learning about other cultures and rivalry between teams addresses both sides of the prompt. However, several supporting points are unclear or only briefly stated: for example, the claim that governments work together to “promotes strength to suggest their thoughts and idea” does not explain how this builds friendship, and the point about economic understanding is not clearly connected to the question. The India–Pakistan example is relevant but needs explanation. To strengthen the response, develop fewer points with clear cause-and-effect reasoning and make your final opinion more decisive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting benefits, a paragraph on drawbacks, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “First of all,” “However,” and “As a result” help signal the direction of the discussion. At times, though, the progression within paragraphs is difficult to follow because ideas are added without clear links; the points about government cooperation and budget planning, for instance, do not build a clear argument about friendship. Some linking is also mechanical, and the conclusion repeats the idea of “both sides” rather than drawing the discussion together. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main claim, then connect each example explicitly to that claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “international sporting events,” “rivalry,” “competition,” and “economic situation,” so the reader can follow the general subject. There are also attempts at less common expressions, but several choices or collocations are inaccurate and make ideas unclear. “Discriminate this idea” does not convey the intended meaning, while “promotes strength to suggest their thoughts” is difficult to interpret. Phrases such as “big enemies” and “bad friendship” are also imprecise for this discussion. Aim for more natural combinations and precise terms, such as “oppose this view,” “foster cooperation,” and “strained relations.” This would make your arguments clearer without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “because” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors occur frequently in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries. For example, “the best way … are” should use a singular verb, and “It helps in build up relationships” has an incorrect verb pattern. “The countries can understands” also has subject–verb agreement trouble, while “for example” begins a sentence without a capital letter. Some sentences combine several ideas in ways that make their relationships hard to follow. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, correct agreement, and appropriate punctuation; then build complexity with one well-controlled subordinate clause at a time.

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