Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-11

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)

Competition can be a key driver of creativity. Some people believe that competition in educational institutions, the workplace and daily life is a positive thing, while others oppose this idea and put a great emphasis on cooperation among individuals. However, I agree with the former point of view.

The proponents of this belief argue that healthy competition helps individuals excel in their particular field and cope with failure. When people compete with their mates, they work hard to uncover their inner potential and try to surpass other people of the same caliber. Having said that, in offices, it helps employees to become more productive; in schools, it motivates pupils to work hard and in sports, it makes the athletes energetic and unbeatable. Also, healthy competition helps a person accept failures and work more on the areas of improvement.

However, if the competition goes too far, it often negatively impacts the people. Young children, in particular, are more prone to develop stress and anxiety from competition. Therefore, the first priority of schools and parents should be to teach them cooperation and empathy towards their fellows. Also, in office settings and daily life, aggressive competition not only leads to the development of negative feelings towards colleagues but also adversely affects a person's self-perception. That's why, instead of competing unncessarily over small things, team members should empower each other by working cooperatively. It will ultimately lead to better teamwork, shared expertise and less stress on the group as a whole.

In my opinion, a healthy competition is of paramount importance in every field of life. It makes the people more ambitious and keen to achieve their goal. For example, if a teacher conducts a neat homework competition among students, students will more likely to go the extra mile to outperform their peers.

In conclusion, a substantial number of people believe that competition is a positive thing in all areas of life and some others prioritize cooperation over competition. I believe as long as competition is healthy and motivates people, it is good.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation before clearly stating a preference. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, particularly in the second and third paragraphs. However, the development of the 'cooperation' side is slightly less detailed than the 'competition' side. The position is consistent throughout the essay, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main points while reiterating the author's stance. To reach a higher band, the student could provide more nuanced examples of how cooperation functions in professional or academic settings to balance the argument more thoroughly.

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 benefits of competition and the potential drawbacks is handled well using the connector 'However'. Cohesive devices such as 'In particular', 'Therefore', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader. While the paragraphing is appropriate, some of the linking phrases are slightly standard or mechanical. The flow is generally smooth, and the relationship between ideas is easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning with some precision. The student uses phrases like 'inner potential', 'paramount importance', and 'go the extra mile', which demonstrate a good command of idiomatic language. There are occasional minor errors, such as 'unncessarily' (spelling) and 'same caliber' (which is acceptable but could be more formal). The range is adequate for the task, though it lacks the more sophisticated, academic collocations that would characterize a higher band score. Overall, the vocabulary is natural and does not impede communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is good control over basic grammar, and complex structures are attempted with reasonable success, such as 'if the competition goes too far, it often negatively impacts the people'. There are a few minor errors, such as 'students will more likely to go' (missing 'be'), but these do not impede understanding. Punctuation is generally accurate. To improve, the student should aim for a greater variety of complex structures and ensure consistent subject-verb agreement in more intricate sentences.

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