Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

Some people believe that competition should be encouraged in different aspects of life, such as at work and at school, while others believe that cooperation is more important than trying to defeat one another. Although competition can be beneficial in some situations, I believe that cooperation is more essential because it allows people to share knowledge and combine different skills.

On the one hand, competition can be beneficial because it motivates people to work harder and perform better. When individuals compete with others, they are often encouraged to improve their skills and achieve their goals. For example, in universities, students often compete for higher grades in quizzes and assignments. As a result, they may put more effort into their studies, which helps them develop their intellectual abilities and prepares them for the competitive job market. However, excessive competition can also be stressful because people may find it difficult to accept failure, which can have a detrimental effect on their well-being.

On the other hand, cooperation helps people overcome complex problems by combining different skills and sharing diverse ideas. Working together can lead to better results because each person can contribute their own knowledge and abilities. Cooperation also develops strong relationships between individuals and allows knowledge to flow more easily. For example, employees in large technology companies such as Google often work together in teams, where programmers, designers and engineers combine their different skills to develop complex products such as Gemini.

In conclusion, although competition can be beneficial in various situations because it motivates people to improve their performance, I believe that cooperation is more important overall. It allows people to share knowledge, exchange ideas and combine their skills, which can lead to better results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both competition and cooperation while clearly stating a position in the introduction and maintaining it throughout. The ideas are well-developed, particularly the example regarding Google, which provides a concrete illustration of the benefits of cooperation. The arguments for competition are also balanced with a brief mention of the potential downsides, such as stress. The response is well-structured and directly answers the prompt, demonstrating a clear understanding of the task requirements. To reach a higher band, the student could further extend the discussion by exploring the potential downsides of cooperation, such as the risk of 'groupthink' or reduced individual accountability, to provide a more nuanced analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central topic, and the transition between the two viewpoints is smooth, using appropriate cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand'. The use of referencing is clear, and the paragraphing is logical. The flow of the argument is consistent, and the conclusion effectively summarizes the main points without introducing new information. The writing is easy to follow, and the cohesive devices are used naturally rather than mechanically, which contributes to the overall clarity of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is sufficient and appropriate for the task. The student uses a range of topic-specific terms such as 'intellectual abilities', 'competitive job market', 'detrimental effect', and 'complex products'. The word choice is generally precise, and there are no significant errors in collocation. While the range is adequate, it could be further enhanced by incorporating more sophisticated or idiomatic expressions to demonstrate a higher level of lexical flexibility. However, the current usage is accurate and effectively conveys the intended meaning throughout the essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a good command of grammatical structures. There is a mix of simple and complex sentences, such as the use of conditional and relative clauses (e.g., '...where programmers, designers and engineers combine their different skills...'). The punctuation is accurate, and the sentence construction is generally error-free. The majority of sentences are clear and well-formed. To achieve a higher band, the student could experiment with a wider variety of complex grammatical structures, such as inversion or more advanced passive constructions, while maintaining the current high level of accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.