Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

There has been an ongoing debate on whether to support competition or cooperation among individuals. Some are of the view that there should be a strict competition in educational institutions as well as offices, whereas others argue that collaboration among individuals are more required. In my perspective, a healthy competition with co-operation among people can pave way towards individual accomplishment along with communal success.

Those who consider competition among students in school, employees in offices and other workers argue that this could lead to polishing their skills and make them ready for the international market where the scope of competition is already touching sky. Without a rivalry, a person can't strive hard to prove and polish his/her skills. This is primarily because it inculcates motivation to do best even under pressure. For instance, if students were not allowed to compete in various curricular and co-curricular activities they can never have a chance to knoe their potential and improve for better

On the other hand, some maintain that collaboration and collective efforts among people of different sectors can yield great results, especially in a world full of mental dissatisfaction and inferiority complex. This view point is supported by the fact that a place where people share their collective efforts towards a common goal, distribute tasks according to individual's skill and collectively get a reward, are more likely to openly share and spread happiness and contention. Moreover, this cooperation can enhance the social bonds, community trust and makes the purpose of life more meaningful.

In my opinion, both views have their own merits but a blend of healthy competition in schools anf workplace for personal groth and motivation can be taken into account while, co-operation is required where a team faces to complete a goal.

In conclusion, competition when required to succeed individually in an area must be promoted along with a collective collaboration at times when the effort is towards a group task.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the views on competition and cooperation, and includes a clear position in the introduction and conclusion. However, the development of ideas is uneven. While the arguments supporting competition are reasonably well-supported with examples like curricular and co-curricular activities, the discussion on cooperation is somewhat generalized and lacks specific examples. Furthermore, some ideas are slightly repetitive, particularly in the concluding paragraphs where the main points are restated without introducing fresh extension. To reach a higher level, the writer would need to fully develop all ideas equally with robust, specific support and ensure every body paragraph is thoroughly explored without leaning on generalized statements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear, logical progression throughout. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes, moving from an introduction to arguments for competition, arguments for cooperation, a personal view, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as "On the other hand" and "In conclusion," though referencing is occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the transition into the final opinion. The half-band achievement reflects a clear overall organisation and effective paragraphing, but full progression to the next band requires smoother transitions and more flexible, native-like management of cohesive relationships between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common lexical items such as "communal success," "inculcates motivation," and "inferiority complex." However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and spelling, including "colaboration are more required" (agreement/collocation), "knoe their potential," "anf workplace," and "personal groth." These errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the argument easily. To achieve a higher band score, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision and consistency in word choice and spelling, employing less common vocabulary with fewer slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct compound and complex structures such as "This view point is supported by the fact that..." There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues like "collaboration among individuals are more required" and minor article omissions or preposition slips. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the meaning to remain clear. The presence of these persistent minor errors while maintaining generally clear control over sentence mechanics places the grammar firmly at this level. To progress further, the writer should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and finer control over article usage and subject-verb agreement.

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