Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-01

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)

It is widely argued that competition in various domains of life such as at work, school or in everyday tasks is highly advantageous, while a lot of individuals believe that a cooperative spirit is more beneficial as compared to the competitive spirit. I support the latter view of maintaining a cooperative environment; however, both perspectives will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Supporters of the first school of thought claim that a competitive spirit is beneficial for the overall growth of the individual. A competitive environment not only allows people to push their personal limits, but also helps to maintain their personal and professional achievements. The relative scheme of grading, for example, in various educational institutes like IITs, is maintained to allow the students to perform well and to push their limits further. Hence, maintaining a competitive environment is important.

While critics of the aforementioned view, including me, argue that a cooperative environment boosts the productivity and the skills of the individual. Having supportive and cooperative people helps to develop new skills and to maintain a positive environment in everyday life, which is very important to stay updated and to boost the productivity of the individual. Therefore, getting surrounded by cooperative people helps more than staying in a competitive environment.

In conclusion, although a competitive spirit is crucial for the personal and professional growth of the individual, I believe that a cooperative environment helps to learn new skills and is important to maintain a positive and supportive environment in the long run.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You successfully address all parts of the prompt by discussing both competition and cooperation while clearly stating your own position in the introduction and conclusion. For example, you mention that 'competition in various domains of life... is highly advantageous' and contrast this with the view that 'a cooperative environment boosts the productivity'. However, some of your ideas are a bit under-developed. While you provide a specific example of relative grading in educational institutes like IITs to support the benefits of competition, your discussion supporting cooperation relies more on general assertions about staying updated and positive rather than providing fully extended examples. To reach a higher level, you should ensure that both sides receive an equal depth of support and illustration, grounding your arguments with more detailed, specific examples from daily life or work environments.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

Your essay demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. You introduce the topic and your stance effectively in the first paragraph, allocate distinct body paragraphs to each view, and provide a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used quite well to guide the reader through your arguments, such as transitional phrases like 'Supporters of the first school of thought', 'While critics of the aforementioned view', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a central theme. To achieve an even higher band, you could aim for more varied and sophisticated referencing and substitution to make the flow of ideas entirely seamless and less reliant on standard formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and phrasing such as 'various domains of life', 'relative scheme of grading', and 'cooperative spirit'. Your word choice is generally clear and communication is not impeded by any lexical errors. However, there are some minor limitations in precision and collocation; for instance, writing 'getting surrounded by cooperative people' is slightly unnatural and could be phrased more formally. To move into a higher band, you need to use a wider range of sophisticated, less common lexical items with more precise control over style and natural collocations throughout your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

You display a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses ('which is very important to stay updated') and concessive clauses ('although a competitive spirit is crucial'). There are frequent error-free sentences, and your control of basic grammar and punctuation is solid, ensuring that your meaning is never obscured. Grammatical errors are relatively minor and infrequent. To reach a higher level, you should aim to incorporate an even wider variety of complex grammatical structures with consistent accuracy, ensuring that complex multi-clause sentences are handled with absolute precision.

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