Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-31

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)

It is often argued that competition is necessary at school, work and in our daily life, but a counter argument is that cooperation is more productive than a competition. I think a little competition never hurts, it fosters an environment for growth.

On one hand, competition at diferent aspect of our lives is advantageous to us, it promotes growth and exposure. Firstly in school, during competion with prizes at stake, student tend to work harder to achieve first position. In a work place, if there is no competition among employees, there is no growth because personnel wouldn't see the point of putting more effort into their work and producing effective result. For instance, look at the world today, many people work exceptionally hard to earn money because subconciously, they are competition with their peers to prove their financial success or status.

On the other hand, cooperating rather competiting nurtures a cordial enviroment and reduces stress on individuals. Some students take competitions too far, and in trying to prove themelves, they make enemies instead of friends. In a work enviroment, due to the unhealthy nature of competing, co-workers sabotage each other to achieve success and this can sometimes have negative impact in a work enviroment. For example, a project needs to be carried out but since everyone is competing to come out on top, nobody is helping each other, everybody is doing what benefit them. Some ideas ,when put together can create a better idea but they remained separated because no one is willing to work with each other

In conclusion, Competition has sometimes done more harm than cooperating, but I personally believe that a little competition is grounds for motivation, it pushes the stagnant individuals to take initiative instead of letting other indidviduals take the helm.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both sides of the argument and provides a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are relevant, such as the mention of academic performance and workplace dynamics. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about workplace sabotage is a strong observation, but it could have been expanded with more specific detail or a more nuanced analysis of how cooperation might actually lead to better outcomes. The position is consistent throughout, but the essay would benefit from deeper exploration of the 'daily life' aspect mentioned in the prompt, which is currently neglected.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is slightly disrupted by minor grammatical errors. The use of referencing is generally clear, though the connection between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to create a more sophisticated flow between the arguments presented.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are some attempts at using topic-specific vocabulary like 'cordial environment' and 'stagnant individuals'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'diferent', 'competion', 'subconciously', and 'indidviduals'. Additionally, some word choices are slightly imprecise, such as 'effective result' instead of 'effective results' or 'productive outcomes'. While the range is sufficient to communicate the message, the frequency of spelling and minor collocation errors prevents a higher score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the writer attempts complex sentences, there are frequent errors in punctuation and grammar, such as comma splices (e.g., '...advantageous to us, it promotes growth...') and missing articles or pluralization errors (e.g., '...at diferent aspect of our lives...'). Subject-verb agreement is also inconsistent at times. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout the text, and the errors do not significantly impede communication. To improve, the writer should focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and refining the use of complex sentence structures.

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