Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · 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 8.0)

Competition is often regarded as an important factor in motivating people to perform better, whether in education, employment or everyday life. However, others argue that greater emphasis should be placed on cooperation rather than rivalry. Although competition can encourage individuals to improve their performance, I believe that cooperation is ultimately more beneficial because it facilitates knowledge-sharing and enables people to achieve common goals.

On the one hand, competition can encourage people to perform to a higher standard. When individuals know that their performance is being compared with that of others, they may be more motivated to work harder and develop their abilities. This can be particularly beneficial in schools and workplaces, where clear goals and rewards can encourage people to make greater efforts. For example, students who compete for academic awards may devote more time to their studies, while employees may be motivated to improve their productivity when promotions are awarded on the basis of performance. Consequently, a reasonable level of competition can encourage personal development and higher achievement.

On the other hand, cooperation can be more effective when people need to solve complex problems or achieve shared objectives. By working together, individuals can combine different skills, knowledge and perspectives, allowing them to accomplish tasks that might be difficult for one person to complete alone. Cooperation can also reduce unhealthy rivalry and create a more supportive environment in schools and workplaces. For instance, a group of students preparing a research project can divide the workload according to their individual strengths, while also discussing their ideas and correcting one another's mistakes. Therefore, cooperation can improve both the quality of collective work and the relationships between those involved.

In conclusion, competition can be valuable because it encourages individuals to challenge themselves and improve their performance. Nevertheless, I believe that cooperation is more beneficial overall, particularly when success depends on combining different skills and perspectives. A balanced approach in which people are encouraged to improve themselves while also working constructively with others is therefore likely to be the most effective.xxj

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

Your response successfully addresses all parts of the task by thoroughly discussing both the views on competition and cooperation while presenting a clear and well-developed personal position throughout. In the introduction, you establish a distinct stance, which is then consistently supported in the body paragraphs. For instance, when exploring competition, you offer concrete illustrations such as academic awards and employee promotions to show how it drives personal development. Similarly, the discussion on cooperation is effectively illustrated by examining group research projects and shared problem-solving. Your ideas are extended logically without digression, demonstrating a sophisticated approach to the prompt. To achieve the absolute highest level, you could have integrated even deeper philosophical or societal implications of rivalry and teamwork in modern life, but your current coverage remains comprehensive, well-reasoned, and fully meets the requirements for a high band score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 8.0

Your essay exhibits a clear logical organisation and natural progression from introduction to conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct central theme—the first body paragraph examines competition, while the second addresses cooperation. Cohesive devices are managed skilfully and unobtrusively, using transitional phrases such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Consequently' to guide the reader smoothly through your arguments. Reference words are handled accurately, ensuring that relationships between ideas remain unambiguous. To reach an even higher standard, you could experiment with a wider variety of advanced cohesive phrasing that links paragraphs with subtle thematic echoes rather than standard transition markers, though your present structural control is already exceptionally robust and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 8.0

You demonstrate a wide, fluent, and flexible range of vocabulary throughout the response, skillfully incorporating less common lexical items such as 'rivalry,' 'perspective,' 'constructive,' and 'unhealthy rivalry.' Your word choices are generally precise and natural, contributing to a polished academic register. For example, phrases like 'facilitates knowledge-sharing' and 'achieve shared objectives' are used accurately in context. There are only very occasional minor slips or slightly standard collocations, but these never impede communication. To push further into the highest band, you could incorporate more idiomatic academic collocations or sophisticated nuance—such as replacing general descriptors with precise academic terminology—yet your current lexical control remains impressive, varied, and well-suited to an argumentative essay of this nature.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8.5

Your command of grammar and sentence structure is a major strength in this essay. You display a wide range of complex structures, utilizing conditional clauses, concessive clauses ('Although competition can encourage...'), and participial phrases with high accuracy. The majority of your sentences are entirely error-free, reflecting a strong control over punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and clause embedding. Minor slips are virtually absent, and even when constructing long, intricate sentences—such as 'When individuals know that their performance is being compared with that of others, they may be more motivated...'—the syntax remains clear and faultless. Maintaining this exceptional level of precision, punctuation control, and structural variety across all future writing tasks will consistently yield top-tier grammatical results.

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