Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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)

It is often argued that, either competing with each other at workplace or at school is beneficial for the people or they should help each other in completing the tasks and cooperate with each other. This essay will discuss both views and comes to a conclusion.

People who agree with helping each other believe that, with cooperation, even the difficult tasks become easy and less time consuming. For example, if a junior nurse in a hospital is struggling to pass the intravenous cannula she can ask her senior nurse to help her out. This help will result in completing the task on time and with less pain to the patient rather than trying multiple times on that patient. Another example to this point is that at school, if a child who is trying hard to understand a maths problem might not get the method of teacher but if his friend helps him understand that question according to his level of understanding it will be easier for that student to underdstand more effectively.

Other people who believe that competing with each other is a better approach, they see this point as, if they compete with each other, either at workplace or in a daily routine this will enhance their creativity and intelligence level. For instance, giving youreself a small challenge on daily basis help you to think faster and make innovative ideas and competing with others is a unique way to test your abilities as well.

In conclusion, both views has pros and cons. Moreover, competing with others is good way to test your skills but on the other hand its unethical and unprofessional not to help your colleagues and friends with their work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both cooperation and competition and include relevant examples, such as nurses helping with a procedure and a friend explaining a maths problem. These examples make the cooperation argument clear. However, the competition paragraph is less fully developed: creativity and testing abilities are mentioned, but there is little explanation of how competition produces these benefits or a specific example. Your own position is also not entirely clear. The conclusion says both views have advantages, then calls competition useful but helping colleagues ethically important, without stating which approach you favour or when each is preferable. To strengthen the response, explain the competition argument further and give a direct, consistent opinion supported by a reason.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, one paragraph for cooperation, one for competition, and a conclusion. The examples are placed with the relevant view, and signposts such as “For example,” “Another example,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, however. The opening sentence is difficult to follow, and “Other people who believe …, they see this point as” repeats the subject and creates an awkward transition. The conclusion’s “Moreover” does not clearly express the contrast that follows. Use simpler topic sentences, connect each example explicitly to the claim it supports, and choose linking words that accurately show the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “cooperation,” “struggling,” “creativity,” “innovative ideas,” and “test your abilities.” These choices communicate the main points, and the nursing example uses relevant task-specific language. Some wording is imprecise or unnatural, such as “pass the intravenous cannula,” “get the method of teacher,” and “competing with others is a unique way.” There are also spelling errors, including “understand” and “yourself,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and precise phrasing—for example, describe inserting a cannula, understanding a teacher’s method, or assessing one’s abilities. Proofreading spelling and avoiding repeated forms of “help” and “compete” would also make the vocabulary more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex structures, including conditional clauses such as “if a junior nurse … she can ask her senior nurse” and a contrastive conclusion. Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “either competing … is beneficial … or they should help” has an unclear structure and mismatched subjects; “both views has pros and cons” has subject–verb disagreement; and “giving yourself a small challenge … help” also needs agreement. The sentence beginning “Other people who believe …” is structurally awkward, while several long sentences would benefit from clearer punctuation and clause boundaries. Practise parallel constructions and check that subjects and verbs agree, especially in longer sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.