Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05

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)

Certain individuals believe that competition in places of work, educational institutions and in everyday living is beneficial, while others argue against competition and advice we rather try to cooperate more instead.

Cooperation among individuals in work places, academic institutions and in daily life is a crucial part of life. It helps individual to achieve certain goals easier and faster. Working together as individuals is beneficial especially when a task needs to be achieved in a period of time. Cooperation tends to bring unity between people of different personalities and backgrounds. Further more, coming together to achieve a certain goal tend to make a working environment accommodating and brings friendliness between employees. For instance, if a group of people were given a particular task to work on, they can only achieve their desired goal if they come together to work as one and not as a competition.

Competition on the other hand plays a crucial role in academic success. In fact, having people who challenge you academically, encourage hard work. Students who have academic rivals tend to study hard and strive to be the top of their class. For instance, if a test is given with the aim of receiving a gift or an award at the end of the assessment, students strive to meet up to the criteria, allowing them to challenge themselves and end up being brilliant and confident in themselves. In addition, having staffs who challenge each other at work encourages employees to work harder and it helps with the growth of a company.

In conclusion, although cooperation helps to achieve a goal faster and brings unity among humans, I believe competition outweighs the benefits of cooperation because it pushes individual to strive for a greater future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both cooperation and competition and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-supported with examples, such as the mention of academic rewards and workplace growth. However, the development is somewhat basic. While the position is clear, the argument could be strengthened by exploring the potential downsides of competition (e.g., stress or burnout) to provide a more balanced and nuanced discussion. The conclusion is concise but could be more effectively linked to the main body points to fully justify the stated preference for competition.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for each perspective, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices such as 'on the other hand', 'for instance', and 'in addition' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there is occasional repetition of phrasing (e.g., 'achieve a certain goal'). The flow is generally smooth, but the connection between sentences could be more sophisticated to reach a higher band. Overall, the information is presented in a coherent manner that is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There is some use of topic-specific language like 'academic institutions', 'working environment', and 'assessment'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of slightly unnatural word choices, such as 'advice we rather try' (should be 'advise us to') and 'having staffs' (staff is an uncountable noun). To improve, the writer should focus on more precise collocations and a wider variety of academic vocabulary to avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is consistently clear, there are recurring grammatical errors that prevent a higher score. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'goal tend to make' (should be 'tends') and 'it helps individual' (should be 'individuals'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and word-form errors, such as 'Further more' (should be 'Furthermore') and 'pushes individual' (should be 'individuals'). Despite these errors, the grammar does not impede communication, and the writer demonstrates a reasonable grasp of sentence construction.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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