Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

In this fast paced world, there is huge competition between people in all sectors of life. People compete at work place, school and even in regular day to day life. Some people consider that it is a good motivation while, other argue that it is not a healthy thing to do. In my opinion, people should try to work on themselves and cooperate with each other to make a better community.

To begin with, some people have an opion that competition works as a positive reinforcement. They argue that competition improves the quality of work and life. People with a motive and a competition can achieve any goal and they can make better progress in life. Competitive work environment cause all the workers to perform better than average. Furthermore, children who study and grow up in a competitive surroundings, tend to perform better in life at later stages. Moreover, they argue that challanges and competitions make people active and it act as a motivating power to grow and become a better person in life. Competitive people makes an effecient and progressed community.

On the other hand, some individuals think that competition is not solely a positive reinforcement. I agree with this opinion. Most children who grew up in constant pressure of out performing other people, tend to have a disturbed mental health. Competition is not always healthy. It can spark negative emotions including jelousy, self doubt and insecurities. Furthermore, constant competition in work life can cause mental distress. It disturbs the sanity of individuals and badly influence the quality of their work. Moreover, It is a compelling force towards the hidden jelousy, hatred and other negative emotions.

In concluson, healthy competition at work, school, and life is a good thing. It keeps people motivated and keep them moving towards their goal as a better person. This is also a fact that overly toxic competitions has negative impacts on life. I believe that people should set their individual goals. They should consider themselves as their only rival and try to perform better with every passing day. In order to create a healthy, loving and progressed community, individuals should work in cooperation at schools, work and other sectors of life, rather than competing against each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the views in favour of competition and those in favour of cooperation, while clearly stating a personal opinion. The writer establishes a coherent position throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported, particularly in paragraphs explaining the psychological impacts of competition and the benefits of individual goal setting. While some arguments, such as the mention of healthy competition in the conclusion, slightly contradict the body paragraphs, the overall task fulfillment easily satisfies the requirements for a Band 7. The main ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring a thorough coverage of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus: introduction, arguments for competition, arguments for cooperation, and a balanced conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the text. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively. However, referencing and transitional links occasionally feel slightly mechanical, preventing the response from reaching the higher bands. Overall, the flow of ideas is maintained consistently, resulting in a solid performance for cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'positive reinforcement', 'mental distress', and 'compelling force'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'opion' instead of 'opinion', 'challanges' instead of 'challenges', 'effecient' instead of 'efficient', 'jelousy' instead of 'jealousy', and 'in concluson'. Furthermore, phrases like 'badly influence' could be improved to 'adversely affect'. These lexical errors and minor spelling inaccuracies do not impede communication, placing the writing comfortably within the Band 6 territory.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'Children who study and grow up in a competitive surroundings...'. There are several grammatical errors and instances of faulty agreement, such as 'a competitive surroundings' (plural/singular mismatch), 'Competitive people makes' (subject-verb agreement), and punctuation slips like missing commas before introductory phrases. Despite these recurring errors, they rarely impede communication, and the meaning remains clear throughout the response. This reflects a typical Band 6 profile for grammatical range and accuracy.

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