Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-03

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 7.5)

Some people believe that competition at work, school and in everyday life is beneficial, while others argue that people should cooperate more with each other. Although cooperation has some advantages, I believe that competition is more important because it motivates people to improve themselves and achieve better results.

On one hand, cooperation can be useful because people can share their knowledge, skills, and responsibilities. At school, for example, students who work together on a project can exchange ideas and help each other understand difficult topics. Similarly, cooperation among employees can make it easier to complete large projects and solve complicated problems. In addition, communities often need to cooperate when dealing with issues such as natural disasters or environmental problems. Therefore, working together can create a supportive environment and produce positive results.

On the other hand, I believe that competition provides stronger motivation for personal and professional development. At school, students who compete for higher grades are often encouraged to study harder and improve their performance. In the workplace, competition for promotions and recognition can encourage employees to become more productive and develop new skills. Furthermore, competition between companies can benefit consumers because businesses try to offer better products and services at competitive prices. For example, technology companies constantly compete to develop faster, cheaper and more useful devices, which gives customers more choices.

In my opinion, although cooperation is necessary in many situations, competition has a greater overall positive impact. It encourages people to set higher goals, work harder and find innovative solutions. Therefore, a healthy level of competition should be encouraged at school, in the workplace and in everyday life, while excessive or unfair competition should be avoided.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the prompt. You have clearly discussed both the benefits of cooperation and the merits of competition, while maintaining a consistent personal position throughout the essay. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the examples regarding technology companies and academic performance, which provide strong support for your argument. The conclusion effectively synthesizes your position, acknowledging the nuance of the topic while firmly stating your preference. To reach a higher band, you could further extend the analysis of 'cooperation' by providing a more specific real-world example beyond the general mention of natural disasters, which would add even more depth to your argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the transition between the two viewpoints is handled smoothly using standard cohesive devices like 'On one hand' and 'On the other hand'. You use a variety of linking words such as 'Similarly', 'In addition', and 'Therefore' to connect sentences effectively. The paragraphing is appropriate, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The flow is natural, and the relationship between ideas is always easy to follow, meeting the criteria for a high band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with precision. Phrases like 'professional development', 'innovative solutions', and 'supportive environment' are used accurately and appropriately. You also show an ability to use less common lexical items, such as 'excessive' and 'recognition', which adds to the sophistication of your writing. While the vocabulary is effective and natural, it remains somewhat standard. To achieve a higher score, you could incorporate more idiomatic expressions or nuanced collocations to demonstrate a wider, more flexible range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

Your control over grammar is excellent. You use a variety of complex sentence structures, such as conditional-like constructions ('although cooperation is necessary... competition has...') and relative clauses, with high accuracy. The majority of your sentences are error-free, and punctuation is used correctly throughout. There are no significant grammatical slips that impede communication. The writing is fluent and demonstrates a high level of grammatical competence. To improve further, you could experiment with more sophisticated sentence variations, such as inversion or more complex passive constructions, to showcase even greater flexibility.

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