Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-30

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)

In recent years, there has been a growing debate about the competition at work, at school and in daily life. While some individuals believe that competition is a beneficial thing, others argue that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. In this essay, I will discuss both the views and present my own perspective.

On one hand, there are many people who argue that competition is a positive thing because it allows people to be more effective and responsible. Individuals at work will put more efforts in order to outperform other colleagues and acquire promotion from the boss. Similarly, to win the prize, students will put extra afforts to achieve the highest position among other participants. As a result, this can not only boost their learnings but also enhance their confidence during the exams. For instance, if there is no competition in the class, students might lack the apetite for studying and end up with poor academic performance.

On the other hand, critics believe that we need to cooperate with each other because this allows us to help the academically weak students. Foe example, some students struggle with the lessons, and cannot afford to pay for the private tutors. Therefore, the students with excellent academic background can support such individuals by sharing their knowledge. Thus, it promotes the brotherhood and also a sense of responsibily in a society.

In conclusion, while both the ideas have their own merits, I believe that finding a middle ground is essential. People strive to work hard if there is a competition but coorperation is also a vital part of a community success. Therefore, they should try to coorporate with each other without losing a spark of competition.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the views that competition is beneficial and that cooperation is preferable, while also presenting a clear personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and extended, such as the examples of employees striving for promotion and students working harder to avoid poor academic performance. However, some arguments remain slightly general, placing the essay comfortably at Band 6.5 or 7. For instance, the discussion on cooperation focuses heavily on peer tutoring without exploring broader societal aspects. Overall, the prompt is well-covered with a clear, developing line of reasoning throughout the text.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical organisation. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction to the two body paragraphs discussing opposing views, and concluding with a balanced summary. Cohesive devices such as 'On one hand', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the arguments. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively. While referencing is generally clear, occasional mechanical transitions like repeating 'coorporate' indicate minor lapses in cohesion. Nevertheless, the writing remains easy to follow and demonstrates a coherent structure fitting for a solid band 7.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'outperform', 'academically weak', and 'middle ground', showing some awareness of collocation and style. However, there are a few noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, including 'apetite' instead of 'appetite', 'afforts' instead of 'efforts', and 'coorporate' instead of 'cooperate'. These lexical slips and occasional repetition prevent the score from reaching a higher band, but the vocabulary remains sufficient to convey meaning clearly and without causing confusion for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, featuring conditional clauses ('if there is no competition in the class') and relative clauses ('students who struggle with the lessons'). There is a good degree of control over grammar and punctuation, and the majority of sentences are clear and grammatically sound. However, a few minor inaccuracies are present, such as the missing article in 'about the competition' in the opening sentence and occasional spelling-related typographical errors. These errors do not impede communication, allowing the essay to achieve a strong band 7 for grammatical control and range.

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