Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-28

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)

Olympics or Football World Cup or any other international sports events are definitely a big part in bringing the countries together. They encourage participants from various countries, multiple cultures and also from various activities. I strongly support these international events happening around the world every year.

During the game, they might have healthy competition which is required for the progress in the game. For Example, I have personally attended a 3000 kms run in the Olympics in Japan. There were multiple countries participated the event. All of a sudden, a person from Australia who was almost at the end of the race had a twist in his ankle and fell on the ground. Eventhough it is a International Olympics game, a surprise and heartful moment happened in the game. A participant from Canada has won the race and immediately rushed to the Australian participant and helped him untill the emergency services arrived. He did the first aid, tried to console the participant about the injury and the race aswell. This clearly proves a healthy friendship between countries rather than any competition which effects their relation.

Furthermore, these events also bring cross-cultural individuals to experience the country in which the events are getting conducted. They understand, respect and celebrate the culture.

In Conclusion, I strongly argue that having International Events between multiple countries is always a healthy relation between them but not a competition which affects it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

Your position is clear: you support international sporting events as a way to build friendship, and the story about the Canadian runner helping an injured Australian gives a relevant example. However, the task asks you to discuss both views, and the opposing argument—that events can create competition and strain relations—is not explained. The response therefore addresses the prompt only partially. The cultural-exchange point is relevant but brief, and the example mainly illustrates sportsmanship rather than explaining how countries are brought together more broadly. The response is also 14 words below the required minimum. To improve, develop a separate point about how rivalry or national pressure can cause tension, then explain why you believe cooperation outweighs that risk.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph centred on a personal example, a further point about cultural exchange, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore” and “In Conclusion” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression is limited because the opposing view is absent, and the first body paragraph moves quickly from general claims to a long anecdote without clearly framing how it supports the main argument. Some connections are also unclear, as in “They encourage participants from various countries, multiple cultures and also from various activities.” Use topic sentences to identify each view, then connect examples explicitly to the point they demonstrate. This would make the overall organisation more purposeful and the links between ideas clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “healthy competition,” “cross-cultural,” “respect,” and “celebrate the culture.” These choices help communicate your main ideas, and the personal example is understandable. However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “a big part in bringing the countries together,” “a healthy friendship between countries,” and “events are getting conducted.” Repetition of “events,” “countries,” and “participant” also limits the range. Spelling and word-form errors, including “Eventhough,” “untill,” and “aswell,” reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and vary key terms—for example, refer to international tournaments, host nations, or relations between countries—while checking compound words and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional-style description of the race and a relative clause in “a person from Australia who was almost at the end of the race.” The main meaning is generally recoverable, but errors occur in sentence construction, verb forms, articles, and agreement. For example, “There were multiple countries participated the event” needs a different clause structure, while “a International Olympics game” has an article error. In “A participant from Canada has won the race and immediately rushed,” the verb forms do not match. The opening sentence is also awkwardly constructed. Practise building accurate complex sentences and check that subjects, articles, and verb forms agree; this will make your ideas easier to follow.

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.