Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17
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 6.0)
In today's world, competition is increasing significantly in different kinds of fields regardless of the age. Competition at professional space, and in education as well as in daily life is considered beneficial in one's life. However, many people believe that we should try to understand and cooperate more, instead of comparing and competing against each other. There are considerable number of thoughts and opinions to this view.
On the one hand, competitions help students, working professionals, and other people try to understand their potential and make them advance in their fields and works respectively. For instance, a student try to work hard to be positioned first rank in a class because of the competition he/she has with other students. This helps them to stay forward among other students in the class and perform productively in other co-curricular activies aswell. Furthermore, competitions also involves positive rewards, prizes for the outstanding candidates as a result which motivates them to boost their productivity in academics and become a good personality in future.
On the other hand, instead of competing against each other, people should try to help, cooperate and work together in order to maintain a good environment and relationships among groups. For example, number of employees working in a company tend to cooperate and assist each other in a task, rather than competing will encourage them to work productively and as a result it can also help to maintain a goodwill to the company.
In my opinion, competitions should be a part of people's life as it helps them to identify their worth and potential among the society they are living in. Additionally, it helps them to become more independent, confident and one step forward from others in order to take great responsibilities and make better decisions for their life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the views that competition is beneficial and that cooperation is preferable, while also clearly stating the writer's own opinion in the conclusion. Ideas are extended with relevant examples, such as students striving for top ranks and employees collaborating on tasks. However, some arguments remain slightly underdeveloped, such as the brief treatment of company goodwill. The position is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6.5 to 7.0 profile well, ultimately earning a solid Band 6.5 due to minor underextension in supporting details.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organised with a clear overall progression. Each paragraph has a discernible focus, moving from an introduction to the two opposing views and concluding with the writer's stance. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'Additionally' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although referencing is occasionally repetitive or slightly mechanical (e.g., 'a student try to work hard'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Overall, the structural flow meets the requirements for a Band 6.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the intended meaning with attempts at less common lexical items such as 'professional space', 'co-curricular activities', and 'goodwill'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'competitions also involves' (subject-verb agreement/word form), 'stay forward' instead of 'stay ahead', and 'goodwill to the company' instead of 'goodwill for the company'. These occasional errors do not impede communication, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause structures (e.g., 'However, many people believe that we should try to understand and cooperate more...'). Nevertheless, frequent grammatical errors occur, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('a student try', 'competitions also involves'), missing articles ('in professional space'), and minor prepositional mistakes. While these errors do not prevent comprehension, they restrict the grammar score to a Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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