Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

I mostly agree with those statements but a bit of nuance should be added. While being competitive at work, school and in daily life can improve someone's motivation, by doing so they could lose sight of the real goal they have been aiming at or given. However, being too competitive could result in less cooperation, but it is not a reason not to have a competitive environment. It only becomes a problem where competitiveness start to hinder communication.

Being competitive no matter the field in life is really important because it forces you to not be happy doing the bare minimum or stagnating at the same where you started. Motivation is finite, once it is gone, there is a need to find something to replace it and / or to fuel it. Having competition will fill that hole nicely because who would be proud of themselves with a bad grade if they see everyone else got a higher mark ? The answer is obviously, no one ! By wanting to get better results than someone else it will add an other variable in someone's life, an other human being which will make someone work, study, work out harder than if they just compared with themselves.

Where competition becomes a problem is when it is becoming the only purpose of someone doing anything. Let's take for example group projects which you can have at work and school, if we reward too much competitiveness someone may hold important informations from his own work group to get a higher individual performance but it is exactly what we do not want. Cooperation can help someone grow, learning from others is almost always better than learning only with yourself. The most striking example would be chess, if you don't have a coach how do you know what move is considered bad without the perspective of someone else ? You might miss some details while your coach won't.

To conclude, competitiveness and cooperation should be used hand in hand and not one at the cost of another. By doing so, we can maximize the benefits of both while minimizing the negatives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, such as the discussion on how competition can drive motivation versus how it can hinder group dynamics. However, some points are slightly under-developed; for instance, the example of chess is a bit narrow and could have been more effectively linked to the broader concept of cooperation in a professional or academic setting. The position is consistent throughout, and the conclusion effectively synthesizes the two viewpoints. To reach a higher band, ensure that all examples are fully integrated into the argument to demonstrate a more sophisticated level of critical thinking.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas. Cohesive devices are present, such as 'However', 'For example', and 'To conclude', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there is occasional awkwardness in the flow between sentences, such as the transition into the chess example. The use of referencing is generally clear, though some sentences could be more tightly linked to improve the overall flow. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly. You use some good collocations like 'hinder communication' and 'stagnating at the same'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and informal phrasing, such as 'fill that hole nicely' and 'no one !'. The range is adequate for the task, but there is a lack of more sophisticated, academic vocabulary that would elevate the response to a higher band. Focusing on more precise word choices and avoiding conversational fillers will help improve your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'competitiveness start' (subject-verb agreement), 'an other variable' (should be 'another'), and 'learning only with yourself' (preposition error). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are some spacing issues around punctuation marks. The majority of sentences are error-free, but the frequency of minor errors prevents a higher score. Increasing the variety of complex structures and proofreading for small agreement and preposition errors would be beneficial.

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