Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-27

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)

People often argue about weather international sports events, such as The Olympics or the Football World Cup are good way to establish a friendship between two countries or these encourage the hate among the fans of different countries. In my opinion, international sports events are excellent way to form a good relation with another country.

One the one hand, people believe that sports such as The Olympics and The Football World Cup are a good way to bring countries together. The major advantage of this view is opportunity to meet new poeple. This is because people visit different country to watch these tournaments. Subsequently, they meet different people from that country and that eventually forms a friendship between two countries. The main reason why I find this view more convincing is a sports encouragement. In another words, these type of international competitions encourage sport and healthy physical activity among the citizens.

One the other hand, others argue that international sports negatively affect the friendship of two countries. For example, one country people often feel superior when they win the match against the another. Moreover, winning team are inclined to show aggresiveness to the losing team which also contribute to hate between two countries.

To conclude, international sports events are best way to bring two countries together however, individuals should persue sports as a event rather than challenge.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both views and state a clear preference in the introduction: international events are an “excellent way” to build relations. The two body paragraphs also give relevant reasons, including visitors meeting people and winning teams behaving aggressively. However, the discussion is brief and the ideas are only partly developed; for example, the link between meeting visitors and friendship between countries needs a more specific explanation or example. Your conclusion gives a recommendation, but “individuals should pursue sports as an event rather than challenge” is unclear and does not fully reinforce your position. The response contains 202 words, below the required 250; the 25 words copied from the prompt are not counted. Develop each view with clearer explanation and a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion. The contrast between the positions is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “Moreover,” and “To conclude” help guide the reader. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with several ideas introduced but not fully connected or extended. For instance, the point about meeting people moves quickly to the claim that this forms friendship between countries, without explaining how individual encounters create wider relations. Some linking phrases are also used inaccurately, such as “In another words.” To improve, build a clearer sequence of claim, explanation, and example in each body paragraph, and use transitions only where they express the intended relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “international sports events,” “tournaments,” “physical activity,” “aggressiveness,” and “superior.” This is enough to communicate the main ideas, and some choices show an attempt to discuss the issue beyond basic terms. However, several word-choice and collocation errors make the writing less natural, such as “establish a friendship,” “sports encouragement,” and “show aggressiveness.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “poeple,” “aggresiveness,” and “persue.” These do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and fluency. Aim to learn common collocations for discussing international relations and competition, and proofread spelling carefully; using more precise phrases will make your arguments clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional-style explanation beginning “This is because” and a relative clause in “which also contribute to hate.” Most of the message remains understandable, but errors in articles, agreement, and sentence construction occur across the response. Examples include “are good way,” “One the one hand,” “winning team are,” and “which also contribute,” where the subject and verb do not agree. The opening sentence is also difficult to control because it combines alternatives in a long structure. Work on accurate article use and singular/plural agreement, and divide long sentences into clearer units. Then practise combining clauses while checking that each subject has the correct verb.

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