Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Some people believe that competition at work, school, and in daily life is beneficial, while others think that cooperation is more important. Both competition and cooperation have their own advantages, but I believe 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. Similarly, 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 can create a friendly and 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 project 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.

In conclusion, competition can encourage people 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 logically developed, such as the mention of academic performance and corporate pricing to illustrate competition, and team dynamics for cooperation. The position is consistent throughout the essay. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more nuanced examples or explore the potential downsides of cooperation (e.g., groupthink) or the specific contexts where competition might be detrimental, which would demonstrate a more sophisticated level of critical analysis and task development.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The essay is well-structured with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central topic sentence, and the progression of ideas is logical. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Similarly', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. The paragraphing is appropriate and contributes to the overall flow. The transition between the discussion of competition and the shift to cooperation is smooth. The response is easy to follow, and the logical sequencing of ideas is consistent throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is accurate and appropriate for the task, allowing for clear communication of ideas. The student uses a range of topic-specific terms like 'supportive environment', 'unnecessary stress', and 'common goals'. While the vocabulary is sufficient and precise, it lacks the 'less common' or 'idiomatic' items that would distinguish a higher band score. The language is functional and natural, but it does not demonstrate a wide range of sophisticated or nuanced lexical choices. To improve, the student should aim to incorporate more academic collocations and varied synonyms to avoid repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The essay displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The grammar is generally accurate, with very few errors that impede communication. Examples of complex structures include conditional clauses ('When people work together, they can...') and relative clauses. Punctuation is used correctly throughout. While the control of grammar is strong, the range of structures is somewhat standard. To achieve a higher band, the student could experiment with more advanced grammatical forms, such as passive voice constructions or inverted structures, to demonstrate greater flexibility and control over complex sentence patterns.

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