Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24

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 6.0)

Competition has become an increasingly common in modern lifestyle. While, it is widely believed that it is beneficial to have competition at work, at school and in daily life too, others argue that people should try to cooperate instead of competing against each other. This essay with examine both perspective before explaining why I believe being cooperated is beneficial.

On the one hand, competition encourage people to produce their best result and enhance productivity. Individual who competing with each other might focus more to be produced better outcome then their competitor. In addition, competition help individuals to apply their true potential in work or whatever they are engaged in. For instance, competition between students in same class encourage students to focus more in studies and achieve first rank. As a result, individuals try to stay focused in order to beat opponent. Therefore, competition helps people to experience their true potential.

On the other hand, one major benefit of cooperating is that people get support from their partners to solve complex task or situation. Cooperation between employees require while working for organization to enhance the profit. To exemplify, engineers who have to solve complex task or project require team work where task is divided among people's skills which resulted in better outcome. Consequently, cooperation at work and school help people to understand difficult easily by helping each other.

In conclusion, although competition encourage individuals to produce their best result, I believe cooperation helps people to solve difficult task easily by working as a team.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The essay addresses both sides of the argument and presents a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While the points regarding productivity and teamwork are relevant, they are not fully extended with deep analysis or nuanced examples. The essay stays on topic throughout, but the arguments remain at a surface level. To reach a higher band, you should aim to expand on your reasoning by explaining the 'why' and 'how' more thoroughly, rather than just stating the benefits. The conclusion is a bit brief and could have better summarised the main points of the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'In addition', and 'Consequently' are used to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'This essay with examine both perspective'. Additionally, the flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression of ideas feels a bit repetitive in its structure. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring they are used more naturally would enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'productivity', 'potential', and 'complex task'. However, there are several instances of word-choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'being cooperated' instead of 'cooperation' or 'cooperative behaviour', and 'understand difficult easily' which is grammatically and lexically incorrect. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise collocations. To improve, focus on using word forms correctly and expanding your range of academic vocabulary to express complex ideas more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'competition has become an increasingly common in modern lifestyle' (extra article), 'Individual who competing' (incorrect verb form), and 'competition help' (subject-verb agreement). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on subject-verb agreement, correct verb tenses, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately without missing auxiliary verbs or incorrect word forms.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.