Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-27

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)

The obvious amount of individuals consider that competition at jobs, at educational institutes and in usual routines is a great thing. On the other hand, others have opinion to cooperate more than contesting each other is also a good practice. Both perspectives have its own signification that cannot be neglected.

Most people think competition is a positive force. competing against each others pushes students and workers to work hard and improve their skills and outcomes. Businesses and individuals create new products and better ideas when they try to beat their rivals. Contests and performance reviews help identify top talent and reward hard work. However, the constant contest can create stress and harm relationships. When winning is the only goal, people may refuse to share information and support individuals.

Other people argue that cooperation is much more valuable than rivalry. Large and complex tasks are easier to finish when a team combine their skills and share the workload. Working together builds trust, empathy and strong socials bonds in communities. Collaboration ensure that everyone benefits and learns from each other rather than leaving people behind. On the downside, a purely cooperative environment might lack individual drive. Without a little challenge, some people may not push their boundaries or try new ideas.

In my opinion, both competition and cooperation are necessary, but cooperation should be our primary guide in daily interactions. Competition is useful for personal growth and sparking new ideas, but cooperation is what holds organizations and societies together. People achieve the most success by using a balanced approach-competing to improve themselves while cooperation with others to reach common goals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, particularly in the body paragraphs where the pros and cons of each approach are balanced. The position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively synthesizes the arguments. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more specific, concrete examples (e.g., mentioning a specific industry or educational setting) to further extend the arguments, as the current examples remain somewhat general. Overall, the response is well-structured and directly answers the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the two perspectives is smooth. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'However', and 'In my opinion' are used effectively to guide the reader. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes a bit standard; incorporating a wider variety of linking phrases or more sophisticated referencing could enhance the flow. Nevertheless, the logical flow is consistent, and the structure supports the reader's understanding throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally appropriate and sufficient for the task. The student uses relevant terms like 'rivalry', 'collaboration', 'empathy', and 'social bonds'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'obvious amount of individuals' (which is unnatural) and 'socials bonds' (a grammatical error). The range is adequate to convey ideas clearly, but the essay lacks the more sophisticated, less common lexical items that would characterize a higher band. Focusing on more precise collocations and avoiding slightly awkward phrasing would improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over basic grammar, and the meaning is always clear. However, there are several persistent errors, such as 'Both perspectives have its own signification' (should be 'their own significance') and 'cooperation with others' (should be 'cooperating with others'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage would help elevate the grammatical accuracy.

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

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