Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-08

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)

Rivalry in day to day activities like work and school is considered by some people as a healthy thing to do. Other people are of the view that collaboration is more benefitial than contesting each other. I believe that friendly competition between people is necessary along with a good mutual understanding with others. This essay will outline how rivalry can benefit people by enhancing the performance of individuals and making them try new things. It will also discuss how jealousy and ego can come in between people if there is a lack of coordination between them.

Increasing jealousy between people may lead to enmity between them which is a drawback of contending poeple. When people get jealous with one another, they reduce communication between them, it also leads them to adopt a hostile attitude towards the other person. Due to a lack of coordination between them they are never able to reconcile. Furthermore, rivalry directly leads to a heightened ego in a person. If a person is better at something than his counterpart, he considers himself far superior than him. This in turn leads a poor relationship between them. For example, in football many players who are performing well, develop egos and do not communicate properly with their team, this eventually leads to an irreconcilable relationship with their teammates. Although, these issues can easily be resolved by giving people regular training of how to maintain healthy competition rather than going down the wrong side.

People tend to perform better when they are competing with one another. Competition leads to more productivity as people strive to do more. They give better output than when they have no motive to fulfill. Comparision between individuals also leads to them trying new things. When they see their associates doing a new activity, it influences them to try it out as well, otherwise they would have the fear of missing out. For example, a recent trend of playing padel has emerged, many young people have only started to play after seeing their friends do so.

In conclusion, while a superiority complex may develop in competitors, the increased productivity is a positive that outweighs it. Furthermore people are now trying new things after seeing their counterparts do it which is an added benefit and has led to effective competition.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear position: friendly competition is useful when balanced with mutual understanding. The benefits you identify—higher productivity and trying new activities—are relevant, and the padel example helps illustrate the latter. However, the two views are not developed equally: the paragraph on jealousy and ego is detailed, while cooperation itself receives little direct explanation. The football example mainly shows the harm of poor teamwork, rather than explaining how cooperation can produce better outcomes. To strengthen the response, explain the value of cooperation in its own right, such as sharing skills or achieving a common goal, and develop the comparison between the two approaches more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate body paragraphs and a conclusion. The progression from the possible harms of rivalry to its benefits is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “For example” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. However, the first body paragraph focuses on negative effects and only briefly mentions training, so the link to the task’s view in favour of cooperation is not fully clear. Some connections are also mechanical or imprecise: “it also leads them” has an unclear reference, and the conclusion repeats the benefits rather than bringing both views together. Make the relationship between each paragraph and the two positions more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “collaboration,” “hostile attitude,” “productivity” and “superiority complex.” These choices allow you to discuss both interpersonal problems and performance. You also attempt less common expressions, but some are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “get jealous with one another,” “reconcile” for repairing a relationship, and “fear of missing out” in a context where the meaning is not quite precise. There are also spelling errors, including “benefitial,” “poeple” and “Comparision.” Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully; precise, conventional phrasing will make your ideas clearer and more convincing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional structures such as “If a person is better at something…” and subordinate clauses introduced by “When” and “Although.” Meaning is generally clear, and several sentences are controlled successfully. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “When people get jealous with one another, they reduce communication between them, it also leads them…,” two independent clauses are joined with a comma, and “it” has an unclear grammatical reference. Other examples include “leads a poor relationship” and “better at something than his counterpart,” where the sentence patterns are not fully controlled. Review clause boundaries, articles and prepositions, and vary sentence structures while maintaining accuracy.

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