Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other.

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 6.5)

Growing population and saturation in every sector demands hard work. Some people think that being competitive in every aspect of your life is a good thing. While others debate that a helping and cooperative environment is rather beneficial.

A competitive mindset is necessary to achieve great ambitions but not everything in life is a test. A cooperative and friendly environment helps a person grow more humbly. In this essay we will discuss both these views before giving my own opinion on it.

In the times that we are in, if you dont have a competitive mindset you might lose a geat opportunity. Competition makes you hungry for success and it drives you to overcome many hurdles. A student will be more passionate to study harder if his competitor scores higher than him. An emloyee will work harder if his colleague gets a promotion. I, personally give more efforts towards a task when theres a competition and someone else might grab the opportunity that I am capable of. It tests my potential and I feel great when rewarded.

On the other hand, competition outside of work should not be prioritized. It can affect your mental health and peace. A person does not always need to win in order to feel good. A cooperative enviornment is beneficial in the long run. A healthy and combined effort of growing and progressing helps a community build a peaceful environment for themselves and the future generations. Regardless of how powerful I feel when I do better than others, I would always prioritize a caring and cooperative environment for the betterment of everyone and for the tranquilty of mind.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the discussion and make your own preference clear: competition can motivate achievement, while cooperation is more valuable for wellbeing and the wider community. The examples of a student responding to a higher-scoring peer and an employee seeking promotion make the benefits of competition concrete. Your conclusion also reinforces your preference for cooperation. This meets the task well, but the two views are not developed equally: the case for competition receives personal and practical examples, whereas the benefits of cooperation are stated more generally, such as helping a community build a peaceful environment. To strengthen the response, explain more specifically how cooperation produces those benefits, and clarify whether your preference applies across work, school and daily life rather than mainly outside work.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on competition, a paragraph on cooperation and a concluding position. Transitions such as “On the other hand” help signal the change in viewpoint, and the ideas generally progress in a sensible order. The opening also previews the discussion. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. “In this essay we will discuss both these views before giving my own opinion” is a formulaic signpost, and “Regardless of how powerful I feel…” does not connect smoothly to the preceding point about community cooperation. The introduction’s claim that competition is not appropriate in every part of life could also be linked more explicitly to the later distinction between work and life outside work. Use clearer references and transitions that show the relationship between each example and your argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range to discuss the topic, including relevant terms such as “competitive mindset,” “overcome many hurdles,” “mental health,” and “cooperative environment.” These choices make your main ideas understandable, and you attempt some less common expressions. At times, however, word choice and collocation are inaccurate or imprecise: “growing population and saturation in every sector demands hard work” is an awkward opening, while “combined effort of growing and progressing” does not express the intended idea naturally. There are also spelling errors, including “geat,” “emloyee,” “enviornment” and “tranquilty.” These do not prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy and polish. Prefer precise, natural collocations and proofread carefully; for example, describe cooperation as “joint efforts” and a “peaceful community.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including conditional structures such as “if you don’t have a competitive mindset, you might lose a great opportunity” and a contrast introduced by “While others…”. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the response includes some variety in sentence length. Some grammatical errors remain. The opening sentence has a subject–verb agreement problem (“population and saturation… demands”), and “A student will be more passionate to study harder” uses an awkward grammatical pattern. In “I, personally give more efforts,” the comma interrupts the sentence and the construction is not well controlled. There are also missing apostrophes in contractions such as “dont” and “theres.” Review agreement, verb patterns and punctuation, and aim for more consistently accurate complex sentences.

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