Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-30

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)

Competition has always been an inseparable part in human life. While some people believe contesting with their colleague and classmates in everyday life improves the individual, others argue that competition is unnecessary, and we should get along with each other more. This essay will discuss both perspectives, I personally believe cooperating brings an excellent result.

If we look closely, competition and rivalry are everywhere. Your classmates might be competing against their grades, people might be racing for the sales in stores and even your closest friend might be in a secret competition with you. It is happening in places where you expect the least. However, majority of the individuals tend to take better actions on improvement when they are in competition. Everyone wants to protect their pride, reputation and prove themselves. This actually brings much more outstanding results in development comparing to other methods. For example, my classmate who usually procrastinates a lot becomes extremely competitive and ambitious whenever there is even the slightest competition going.

Even though contesting has a massive influence in enhancement, it can put those people in a constant alerted and prepared position which can be exhausting. Being in a constant alerted state, craving for competition might trigger a personal rivalry and vengeance between countless of people's relationship causing unfavorable atmosphere in the workplace or school.

As a person who had encountered a few intense competition, it had inserted a bad habit of non-stop caution and defense which I can't seem to shake it off.

In conclusion, while, rivalry and contest might be a key factor to significant personal enhancement, it conclude a unwanted reaction and results in a wide range.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The essay addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the benefits of competition and the value of cooperation. You clearly state your position in the introduction. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. While you provide a personal example regarding a classmate, the discussion on the negative aspects of competition is less developed and lacks specific examples. The conclusion is also quite brief and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To reach a higher band, ensure that each body paragraph provides a balanced level of detail and that your final summary reflects the depth of your preceding arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However,' 'Even though,' and 'In conclusion,' to link your thoughts. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'it conclude a unwanted reaction.' The referencing is generally clear, but the connection between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall readability. Strengthening the use of cohesive devices within paragraphs would help the ideas flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'inseparable,' 'procrastinates,' and 'unfavorable.' However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'contesting with their colleague' (competing with), 'craving for competition' (a desire for), and 'it conclude a unwanted reaction' (it leads to an unwanted result). While these errors do not impede communication, they limit the precision of your argument. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations and academic phrases would significantly improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this level. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('a unwanted reaction'), subject-verb agreement ('it conclude'), and prepositional usage ('competition... in human life'). Additionally, there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'it had inserted a bad habit,' which affect the clarity of your expression. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy of your writing. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical consistency would be beneficial.

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