Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Competition is a common part of life, especially at school and in the workplace. Some people believe that competition encourages people to work harder, while others think that cooperation is more important. This essay will discuss both views, and I believe that both competition and cooperation have important roles in our lives.

On the one hand, competition can encourage people to improve their performance. When students compete with their classmates, they may become more motivated to study and achieve better grades. Similarly, employees who compete for promotions may work harder and develop new skills. Competition can also be beneficial for businesses because companies try to provide better products and services than their competitors. As a result, competition can encourage people to become more hardworking and productive.

On the other hand, cooperation is also important because people can achieve better results by working together. For example, students who work on group projects can share their knowledge and help each other understand difficult topics. In the workplace, employees can cooperate to solve problems and complete tasks more efficiently. Moreover, cooperation can create a friendly environment because people are more likely to support each other rather than seeing everyone as a rival. If people are constantly competing, they may experience stress and become less willing to help others.

In my opinion, both competition and cooperation are necessary in daily life. Healthy competition can motivate individuals to improve themselves, but cooperation is essential when people need to achieve a common goal. Therefore, competition should not become excessive, and people should also learn how to work effectively with others.

In conclusion, competition can motivate people to work harder and improve their performance, whereas cooperation helps people share ideas and achieve common goals. I believe that maintaining a balance between these two approaches is the most beneficial way to succeed in school, work and everyday life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the view that competition is good and the view that cooperation is more important, while clearly presenting the student's own opinion throughout the essay. The introduction establishes a clear stance that both approaches play important roles, and this position is consistently maintained and supported. In the body paragraphs, relevant ideas are extended and supported with appropriate examples, such as students working on group projects or employees competing for promotions. The arguments are well-developed and logical, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.0 or Band 7.5 standard, demonstrating a clear understanding of the prompt and maintaining a well-supported position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. It is divided into distinct paragraphs, starting with a clear introduction, followed by well-sequenced body paragraphs discussing both sides and the personal opinion, and concluding with a concise summary. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Moreover', and 'Therefore' are used effectively to guide the reader through the arguments. Although some transitional phrases are somewhat standard, referencing and substitution are well managed. The overall progression of ideas is easy to follow, making this a strong performance that aligns well with the Band 7.0 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Words and phrases such as 'motivation', 'productivity', 'efficiently', 'rival', and 'excessive' demonstrate a sufficient range to allow flexibility and precision. There are also successful attempts at less common lexical items like 'healthy competition' and 'common goal'. While the vocabulary is not consistently sophisticated or rare enough for a higher band, word choice and collocations are natural and errors are virtually absent. The lexical resource easily satisfies the criteria for Band 7.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writing exhibits a good variety of complex sentence structures, such as 'When students compete with their classmates, they may become more motivated...' and 'If people are constantly competing, they may experience stress...'. The student demonstrates good control of grammar and punctuation, with frequent error-free sentences throughout the essay. Minor errors are rare, and sentence forms are handled with good accuracy, meaning communication is never impeded. The grammatical range and accuracy consistently reflect the descriptors for a Band 7.0 score.

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