Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-27

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)

It is undeniable that some people believe that competition in various fields such as, workplaces, schools, and in daily life is a good thing. However, others argue that cooperating with others is far more beneficial than competing against one another. This essay will discuss both perspectives before explaining why I believe a balance between competition, and cooperation is the most effective approach.

To begin with, competition has several advantages in different fields. Firstly, in schools, students develop various kinds of skills such as, critical thinking, and communication skills by competing with another. Moreover, when they face defeat in competitions whether in sports or academics, they learn to accept failure gracefully instead of feeling jealous of others. Secondly, in offices, when one employee of the team is promote to the higher position. Therefore, other employees work harder, and perform best in the next task. For instance, in many companies, employees who see their other collegeus being rewarded for excellence performance are inspired to improve their own skills, as well as productivity.

Nevertheless, cooperating with others is more beneficial than competing against others. On the one hand, in homes, when every member of a family completes household chores through harmoniously, and with mutual understanding, the burden on a single family member is reduced. As a result, family relationships becomes stronger. On the other hand, cooperation helps builds a peaceful, and supportive society. Everyone benefits, If people work together to solve community problems. To illustrate with example, during natural disasters, people often cooperate by donating food, clothes, money, and other essential items to those in need.

To recapitulate, I believe that, competition, and cooperation are a double edged sword. Consequently, people should maintain a balance between the two, depending on the situation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-supported, such as the examples of workplace promotion and natural disaster relief. However, the development of the 'balance' aspect in the conclusion is somewhat brief. To reach a higher band, the essay could have integrated the synthesis of these two concepts more thoroughly within the body paragraphs rather than leaving it until the final sentence. Overall, the position is clear and maintained 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 main perspectives. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Moreover', 'Nevertheless', and 'On the one hand' are used to guide the reader. However, there are some minor issues with punctuation and flow, such as the unnecessary comma usage in 'competition, and cooperation' and 'harmoniously, and with'. Despite these minor mechanical issues, the progression of ideas is clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task, with some attempts at less common collocations like 'double edged sword' and 'mutual understanding'. There are occasional errors in word choice and form, such as 'colleagues' being misspelled as 'collegeus' and 'excellence performance' instead of 'excellent performance'. While these errors do not impede communication, they indicate a need for more precision. The range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly, but more sophisticated vocabulary would be required to move into the higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and sentence construction, such as 'one employee... is promote' (should be 'promoted') and 'family relationships becomes' (should be 'become'). Additionally, there are some issues with comma splices and unnecessary punctuation. While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the message. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are punctuated correctly.

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