Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20

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)

Many people argue that creating a competitive environment in everyday life, especially at workplaces and educational institutions, is beneficial. However, many people believe that a supportive environment should be created instead of competition against each other. Although both sides have their own pros and cons, in my opinion, I slightly agree with the former one because it implements the sense of motivation and the drive to become successful in the individuals.

Competition in daily life has many benefits for everyone, specifically for the people working and studying. It motivates them to move forward, building their careers. At the workplace, it enhances their chances of promotion in their company. At school, it increases students' performance by motivating them, so their results get better. For example, many students achieve remarkable results and get admission to their desired college when put into healthy competition.

Apart from competition, there is a need to create cooperative and supportive areas, as they are helpful for personal as well as professional growth. It creates empathy in the people, and they care for each other's problems as well. At a younger age, students should be taught to work in a group so they can learn to cooperate with their friends. For example, many projects are solved in less time when multiple teams are working together on them.

In conclusion, competition challenges the students and employees to stand out among themselves for career growth. Cooperation among colleagues regarding different matters can solve the buried issues without escalating the matter and make the people closer to each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the view in favour of competition and the view supporting cooperation, while also presenting a clear overall position in the introduction. Ideas are extended and supported, such as when the student explains how workplace competition enhances promotion chances and how school competition improves student performance and college admissions. However, some arguments tend to generalise or remain slightly under-developed, particularly in the conclusion where the discussion of cooperation introduces new concepts like 'buried issues' that were not fully elaborated earlier in the body paragraphs. Overall, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0; it presents a clear position and addresses the prompt adequately, but greater depth and extension in the supporting arguments would push it into a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is divided into logical paragraphs: an introduction presenting both views and the writer's stance, a body paragraph on competition, a body paragraph on cooperation, and a conclusion summarising the main points. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Although', 'For example', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the text. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraphing and the transition between ideas could be slightly smoother. For instance, moving from the benefits of competition straight to cooperation lacks a robust transitional sentence to contrast the two directly. Nevertheless, the overall cohesion is well managed, fitting the Band 7 descriptor for logical organisation and progression.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task. Phrases like 'competitive environment', 'educational institutions', 'professional growth', and 'empathy' show a solid grasp of topic-related terminology. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'implements the sense of motivation' instead of 'instils a sense of motivation' or 'fosters motivation'. Additionally, some expressions are slightly repetitive, such as 'many people' used twice in the opening sentences. Despite these occasional slips and limitations in using less common lexical items with complete precision, the vocabulary is sufficient to allow clear communication, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'although', 'as', and 'when'. There are several error-free sentences, particularly in the descriptive sections of the body paragraphs. However, a few grammatical and stylistic errors persist, such as 'the former one because it implements the sense of motivation', where the phrasing is slightly awkward, and 'among themselves' in the conclusion, which is imprecise in this context. Punctuation is generally accurate and does not impede communication. Because the writer demonstrates a reasonable control of a mix of structures alongside some recurring minor inaccuracies, a score of 6.5 is appropriate.

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.