Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-07

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)

Some people think that competition at work school and in daily life is beneficial while others believe that cooperation have their own advantages, but I agree that cooperation is more useful in most situations.

On the one hand, competition can motivate people to work harder and achieve better results. When people compete with others, they often try to improve their skills and reach their goals. For example, students may study harder when they want to get higher marks than their classmates. Competition between companies can encourage them to provide better products and services at lower prices. Therefore, healthy competition can help people become more hardworking and successful.

On the other hand, cooperation create a supportive environment. When people work together, they can share their ideas, knowledge, and skills. This can help them solve problems more easily and complete tasks faster. For instance, in a workplace a team can achieve a large projects successfully when all employees support each other instead of only trying to become better than their colleagues cooperation can also improve relationships and reduce unnecessary stress.

In my opinion, competition is useful when it is healthy and fair, but cooperation is more important in daily life. People cannot achieve everything alone, and working together can often produce better results. For example, during group projects at college, I have found that sharing work with classmates makes difficult tasks easier and helps everyone learn from each other\.

To sum up, competition can encourage individuals to improve, while cooperation helps people achieve common goals. I believe a balance is best, but cooperation should be given greater importance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, particularly the examples regarding workplace dynamics and academic projects. However, the development is somewhat brief in places. For instance, the discussion on competition could be further extended by exploring the potential downsides, such as burnout or unethical behavior, to provide a more nuanced argument. Overall, the position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively synthesizes the main points while maintaining the writer's stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'For instance', and 'To sum up' are used effectively to signal shifts in the argument. However, there is a minor punctuation error in the third paragraph where a sentence run-on occurs: '...trying to become better than their colleagues cooperation can also improve...'. Despite this, the overall flow is smooth and the paragraphing is appropriate.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'supportive environment', 'achieve common goals', and 'healthy competition' correctly. While the range is adequate, it lacks the more sophisticated or 'less common' lexical items that would elevate the score to a higher band. There are no significant errors in word choice that impede communication, but the language remains somewhat functional rather than precise or idiomatic. Expanding the range of synonyms and collocations would improve the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are accurate, there are recurring grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'cooperation create' instead of 'cooperation creates' and 'cooperation have' instead of 'cooperation has'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation errors, such as missing commas in lists ('work school and in daily life') and a run-on sentence in the third paragraph. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the essay from reaching the higher bands where error-free complex structures are expected.

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