Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-26

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 7.0)

From the dawn of time, humans have always had a competing nature when interacting with one another. Whether it is in everyday life, in work or in school competition fueled a lot of them interactions. While some argue that this sense of competition is overall a good thing others believe that we as humans should rather focus more on cooperation.

As far as I am concerned I truly do believe that the benefits of cooperation outweigh any good brought from competition.

First of all, it is undeniable that competition to a certain extend could have some upsides. In fact, competition is a source of motivation and a fuel for self improvement. This has been proved multiple times during history with numerous stories of rivalities that led to great achievements. However, this comes at a cost where an excess of it could lead to health related troubles with a particular impact on mental health and a soar in stress or depression levels. Making it on the long term not as reliable as first thought to be.

On the other hand, cooperation as a substitution to competition could have far more benefits to humanity as a whole when effectively applied. As a matter of fact, cooperation is just an enhancement of competition benefits. If competition favors self improvement and motivation than so does cooperation in an even better extend. Furthermore, cooperation succeeds and achieves what competition fails to. For instance, cooperation strengthen the bonds between individuals rather than endangering them. When relying on a peer to achieve a task it also helps avoid stress states or any other negative emotions.

To conclude, even though competition appeared to have few upsides those still remained minimal in comparison to cooperation's benefits which not only improved them but added on them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal position in the introduction. The ideas are relevant, such as competition acting as a motivator and cooperation fostering stronger social bonds. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the argument that cooperation is an 'enhancement of competition' is an interesting point but lacks specific, concrete examples to fully support the claim. While the task is addressed, the supporting arguments could be more thoroughly extended to reach a higher band. The position is consistent throughout the essay.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two viewpoints. Cohesive devices such as 'First of all', 'However', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' are used effectively to guide the reader. There are minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the phrase 'them interactions' in the first paragraph, which is slightly awkward. Overall, the progression of ideas is clear, and the logical structure is maintained throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common items like 'rivalities' (though this is a spelling error for 'rivalries') and 'soar in stress'. There are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'competing nature' instead of 'competitive nature' and 'to a certain extend' instead of 'to a certain extent'. While the range is sufficient to convey meaning, the errors in word form and spelling prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher scores.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'competition fueled a lot of them interactions' (should be 'these interactions') and 'than so does cooperation' (should be 'then so does cooperation'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, though some sentences could be refined for better clarity. While the errors are noticeable, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of comparative structures and prepositions.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.