Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-21

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)

Healthy competition can motivate individuals to improve their skills and achieve higher level of performances. Some individuals believe that competition at workplace, schools and in daily life is a good concept to improve performance, whereas others argue that cooperation is better than competing against each other. I strongly support that a healthy competition makes a better person with high quality of performance and that individual can deal with his/her failures more easily.

On the one hand, competition has various positive effects on personal and professional growth. First and foremost, it helps in achieving and improving performances. A certain degree of competition can encourage people to work harder and become more innovative. Moreover, competition develops skills of dealing with failures. Sometimes participation is more important than winning as it provides a great knowledge about the topic and it helps in assessing one's strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, competition plays a crucial role in shaping an individual, developing skills and improving performances.

On the other hand, cooperation has it's own significance in one's life. Cooperation helps to build contacts and foster interactions. By this people can work in a team and interact with individuals with same interest, then they are more like to trust and support one another which creates a supportive environment. Additionally, working together promotes individuals to achieve targets effortlessly and in less time. For instance, in a company, if a team is working on a project then every member of the team makes efforts to achieve the goal and can complete their target timely. Therefore, cooperation results in increase in production and saves time.

In conclusion, although a healthy competition improves performances and develops a skill of dealing with failure, cooperation increases productivity, saves time and builds interaction.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation and providing a clear personal opinion. The position is consistent throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention that competition helps with 'dealing with failures,' this point could be expanded with a more concrete example to reach a higher band. Similarly, the discussion on cooperation is relevant but remains at a somewhat general level. To improve, ensure that each body paragraph contains a specific, illustrative example that directly supports the main argument, rather than relying on general statements about 'a company' or 'a team'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand,' 'Moreover,' 'Additionally,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be more sophisticated. For instance, the transition 'By this' in the third paragraph is slightly awkward. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a strong, unified focus will help elevate the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'innovative,' 'foster interactions,' and 'productivity.' However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'achieve higher level of performances' (should be 'higher levels of performance') and 'provides a great knowledge' (should be 'provides great knowledge' or 'provides valuable insights'). The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more precise academic synonyms for common verbs and nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist. For example, 'it's own significance' should be 'its own significance' (possessive pronoun), and 'they are more like to trust' should be 'they are more likely to trust.' Additionally, there are minor issues with article usage and pluralization, such as 'in a company' (often 'in companies') and 'a skill' (often just 'the skill'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.

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

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