Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-19
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)
People have different viwes about competition at workplace, at school and everyday life canbe beneficial, while some people believe that greater emphasis should be placed on cooperation. This essay will discuss both viwes and I believe that a balance between two is most beneficial.
On the one hand, there are several reasons why people believe that competition at work is essential. The main reason is that competition can encourage individuals to improve and excellence their performance. When people compete with one another, they may become more motivated to achieve their goals and develop their skills. For instance, students who compete for higher grades may devote more time and effort to their studies. Similarly, competition ain the workplace can encourage employees to be more productive and innovative.
On the other hand, other argued that cooperation is very important for individuals. This is mainly because cooperation can foster a supportive environment and enable people to achieve common objectives. By sharing knowledge, responsibilities and resources, individuals can often solve problems more effectively than they could independently. For example, students working on a group project can exchange ideas and learn from each other. In the workplace, effective teamwork can also strengthen relationship and improve overall innovation and productivity. Consequently, excessive competition may sometimes be hazardous for people because it can lead mental pressure.
In conclusion, competition can encourage individuals to improve their performance and achieve their goals, whereas cooperation can create a supportive environment and help each other to achieve a common objective. Both approaches have their own advantages. In my opinion, a balance between the two can help individuals develop their abilities by also maintaining positive relationships with others
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on competition and cooperation and clearly presenting their own opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as students competing for higher grades or collaborating on group projects. The position is maintained consistently throughout the essay, and the main arguments are extended reasonably well. To reach a higher band, the development could be slightly more sophisticated with deeper exploration of the psychological or societal implications of both approaches.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Standard cohesive devices are used appropriately, such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is logical, separating the introduction, the two body paragraphs, and the conclusion. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the sudden shift to the negative effects of excessive competition at the end of the second body paragraph, which slightly disrupts the seamless progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'innovative', 'supportive environment', and 'excessive competition'. However, there are several noticeable vocabulary errors, such as 'viwes' instead of 'views', 'at workplace' missing an article, 'excellence' used as a verb instead of 'excel', and 'competition ain't' or 'ain't' which appears to be a typo for 'in'. These lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses ('who compete for higher grades') and conditional-like structures effectively. However, there are several grammatical errors and typos throughout the text, including spelling mistakes like 'viwes' and 'canbe', awkward phrasing such as 'lead mental pressure' instead of 'lead to mental pressure', and a missing full stop at the very end of the essay. The frequency of these errors places the writing firmly in the band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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