Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-12

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 6.0)

Some people believe that competition in daily life in different aspects is a good thing, while others argue that cooperating is more benefical rather then competing, This essay will discuss both views, but I strongly believe that cooperating more is a better idea.

On the one hand, those who think that competition in daily life is a good thing argue that competition leads to better performance and productivity. This is because competition creates peer pressure, which often causes individuals to work harder and smarter rather then procrastinating. For example, in a IT company where many software enginners work. If there is competition among them, they would need to work hard in order to show they are better then others and hence get promotions and potential salary increase. Therefore, competition might lead to better performance and growth of overall company.

On the other hand, I believe that cooperating more is a better idea because it does not create a enviornment of rivalry and jealousy, which often causes loss of productivity. This is mainly due to the fact that employees do not have a peer pressure, so they cooperate more and share the important knowledge, which might be helpful for others. This leads to better team communication and cooperation, which results in better team productivity. As a result, cooperating more can improve the overall team productivity.

In conclusion, although competion among peers have some benefits, I firmly believe that cooperating more is overall more beneficial, This is because it improves the team productivity by sharing important knowledge and also helps to build a peaceful enviornment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the question and state your position clearly in the introduction and conclusion: you favour cooperation. The competition paragraph gives a relevant reason—peer pressure may encourage harder work—and illustrates it with an IT-company example. The cooperation paragraph also explains how sharing knowledge can improve team communication and productivity. However, the discussion is not equally developed: the competition example is hypothetical and could explain more clearly how individual performance benefits the wider workplace, while the case for cooperation repeats the productivity point rather than adding a distinct consequence. To strengthen the response, develop each view with a more specific example and explain the effects in greater depth, while keeping your position clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. Within paragraphs, ideas generally move from a claim to an explanation and result. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent arrangement and also shows some stronger control through clear paragraphing. However, linking is somewhat formulaic: “This is because,” “This leads to,” and “As a result” repeatedly announce relationships that could be expressed more naturally. The final paragraph also repeats the cooperation argument rather than synthesising the contrast. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and make each sentence add a new step to the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “peer pressure,” “productivity,” “rivalry,” “jealousy,” and “share the important knowledge.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and some phrases show an attempt to discuss workplace effects precisely. However, several word-choice and spelling errors reduce accuracy, including “benefical,” “enginners,” “enviornment,” and “competion.” Some expressions are also imprecise or repetitive: “better idea” and “team productivity” recur, while “in a IT company” is not a natural collocation. Aim to check spelling carefully and choose more precise alternatives, such as “collaborative approach” or “workplace performance.” Greater variety and more natural collocations would make the argument sound more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “peer pressure, which often causes individuals to work harder” and a conditional example beginning “If there is competition.” Most sentences remain understandable, so the grammatical problems do not generally obscure your meaning. Some errors nevertheless appear in sentence boundaries, articles, agreement, and punctuation. For example, the opening sentence joins two independent clauses with a comma, and “a enviornment” needs an article adjustment; “competition among peers have” also has a subject–verb agreement problem. The IT-company example is a fragment beginning “For example,” rather than a complete sentence. Practise checking sentence boundaries and agreement, and vary complex structures while ensuring each sentence is complete.

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