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)

Competing with others has been one of the major trends in recent time which is evident at workplaces, educational institutions, as well as in different circumstances of regular life. Although, healthy competition in some situations helps individuals to improve themselves, I strongly believe that we should focus on cooperating more, rather than competing against each other to make this world a better place to live.

First and foremost, in this world where intelligence is crucial for the development of human civilization, cooperation among different sector is must needed for any kind of innovation that can improve our living standards wellbeing. For instance, in a corporate office, people can have a good environment to work if they are cooperative with each other. Cooperating each other not only helps the company to grow but also improves individual skills and psychological wellbeing. This practice can be replicated in other areas of works or studies, and make this earth more beautiful place where people can grow together.

In contrast, unhealthy competition hinders some people's growth and affects on their mental wellbeing. In the workplaces where people try to dominate others and only focus on their personal improvement, the overall welfare cannot get achieved. Consequently, it can destroy many people's career growth as well as their psychological health, especially it affects more on the introverted people who are always dominated in workplaces, at schools and in daily life. Nonetheless, healthy competition can help individuals to become their better version, but it is also a kind of cooperation where people are positively inspired to go forward from each other.

To conclude, although having some benefits individually, competition cannot help a group to grow altogether. Therefore, where this world needs a fair place to live together, we need more cooperation rather than competing with each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on competition versus cooperation and clearly states a personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are generally extended and supported, such as mentioning the role of cooperation in corporate offices and innovation. However, there is a tendency to over-generalise slightly in the body paragraphs, and some arguments regarding unhealthy competition and introverted individuals could have been more deeply developed with a specific example. Overall, the response fulfills the task requirements effectively, earning a solid Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, starting with an introduction, moving to cooperation, then contrastive views on competition, and finishing with a clear conclusion. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'First and foremost', 'In contrast', and 'To conclude'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally slightly mechanical, and transitions between sentences could flow more smoothly. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, maintaining a well-structured layout from start to finish. These qualities align well with Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, demonstrating awareness of topic-related terminology such as 'psychological wellbeing', 'innovation', and 'introverted people'. There are attempts to use less common items, though some awkward collocations or word choices occur, such as 'standards wellbeing', 'cooperation among different sector is must needed', and 'welfare cannot get achieved'. Spelling is generally accurate, and errors do not impede communication. This balance of adequate range and occasional inaccuracies places the lexical resource safely at Band 6.5, rounded to 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like constructions effectively. There are, however, several grammatical errors present, including missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and awkward verb forms (e.g., 'affects on their mental wellbeing', 'Cooperating each other', 'are always dominated in workplaces'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, and the writer maintains a reasonable degree of control over punctuation and basic syntax. This performance fits the Band 6 profile for grammatical range and accuracy.

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