Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22

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 among colleagues and students increases day by day. Some people believe that it is good for workers and students while others say that cooperation should be normalised instead of competition. This essay will discuss both of these opinions. In my view, it is a good thing as long as it remains healthy and people cooperate with each other.

Competition is good for overall growth and development. People competing against each other often tend to work hard, achieve more and excel in their fields. People also get motivated when they see their peers working hard so they also notice reasons to work harder than their colleagues. For example, productivity of employees is mostly higher in corporate sector due to highly competitive environment as compared to government sector employees where there is very low competition. Turning to the students, high competition trains students' minds and prepares them for the jobs in the future. Students in a classroom compete against their classmates and learn how to outperform them. This training helps them compete against thousands of job applicants in their careers ahead.

Despite its benefits, competition also has some drawbacks. People often do not help their peers when they see their own benefits. This leads to an environment where there is no teamwork and lack of coordination. As a result, projects where teamwork is essential face delays due to lack of cooperation. Furthermore, in a rigorous competitive school, students struggle to learn from each other as everyone wants to win. For example, students preparing for college entry exams struggle to learn concepts from their friends as they all are competing against others for the same test.

In conclusion, high competition is helpful for growth and development as workers can get motivated and students are trained for their future careers. However, it also has some cons like lack of cooperation and coordination and an environment where people do not help others. In my personal view, a healthy competitive environment should be encouraged in workplaces and schools where people cooperate and help others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task well, discussing both the benefits of competition and the drawbacks of lacking cooperation, while also stating a clear personal position in the introduction and conclusion. The ideas are well developed with relevant examples, such as the comparison between the corporate and government sectors and the discussion around college entry exams. The position is maintained throughout the essay. The student covers all components required by the prompt, meeting the criteria for Band 7.0 by presenting a clear position and extending and supporting ideas appropriately, though some arguments regarding student competition could be slightly more expansive to reach higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay has a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct central topic, moving smoothly from the introduction to the benefits, then the drawbacks, and finally the conclusion. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Turning to the students', 'Despite its benefits', and 'In conclusion'. However, paragraphing is straightforward and some cohesive ties are slightly mechanical, which fits comfortably within the Band 7.0 descriptor. Paragraphs are used sufficiently and appropriately to structure the response, ensuring the progression of ideas remains easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, allowing for some flexibility and precision with terms like 'productivity', 'rigorous competitive school', and 'outperform'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though occasional word choice and collocation issues arise, such as 'see their own benefits' instead of 'protect their own interests' or 'see their own advantage'. Spelling and word choice errors are minor and do not impede communication. This demonstrates the control and range expected at Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7.0 due to the generally adequate and mostly accurate vocabulary deployment.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. Examples of complex structures include 'People competing against each other often tend to work hard...' and 'Students in a classroom compete against their classmates and learn how to outperform them.' There are some minor grammatical inaccuracies and slightly awkward phrasings, such as 'workers can get motivated and students are trained' (mixed passive/active voice flow) and 'where there is no teamwork and lack of coordination' (parallelism issue). However, these errors are infrequent and rarely impede communication, supporting a solid Band 6.5 or 7.0 score. The majority of simple sentences are accurate.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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