Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-09

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 debated whether competing against one another in job, academics and other routine tasks plays a significant role in modern society. In my opinion, while there are valid arguments on both sides, I firmly believe that cooperation should be prefered instead of competition. This essay will discuss both the perspectives and explain why cooperating with each other is the primary factor.

On the one hand, a major argument in favor of competitions is that it provides immediate happiness. To clarify, when individuals or societies focus on this aspect, they tend to experience an extreme encouragement and enthusiasm to progress more in the coming years. For instance, recent Chinese schools survey show that children strive to achieve more when they are in competition with other children. Consequently, this demonstrates why a significant portion of the public supports this perspective.

On the other hand, I would argue that everyone should cooperate with each other in every discipline of life to ensure long-term sustainable confidence and support. This is primarily because when someone tries to help others in their studies or work, they would also help him whenever he would require their help which would ultimately build a supportive and helpful environment. A clear example of this can be seen in large firms where larger milestones are efficiently achieved through teamwork. Therefore, the advantages of this approach clearly outweigh any potential drawbacks.

In conclusion, although healthy competitions against each other have its merits in certain contexts, I reiterate that cooperating and growing with one another is a vastly superior approach which is also prefered by large firms

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear preference for cooperation in the introduction and conclusion. The teamwork example from large firms supports your position, and the school survey is relevant to the benefits of competition. However, the two views are not developed equally: the competition paragraph mainly claims that it creates “immediate happiness” and enthusiasm, without explaining in detail how competition improves performance or outcomes. The cooperation argument is more fully explained through reciprocal support, but could also consider a limitation or clarify when cooperation is most effective. Develop each main idea with a fuller explanation and a specific, credible example so that the discussion is more balanced and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the progression easy to follow, while “For instance” introduces supporting evidence. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, several links feel formulaic, particularly the repeated use of “Consequently,” “Therefore,” and “This is primarily because.” Some references are also imprecise: “this aspect” and “this perspective” require the reader to infer exactly which point is meant. Use more varied, natural transitions and make references to preceding ideas explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “competition,” “cooperate,” “sustainable,” “teamwork,” and “milestones,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “a significant portion of the public.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “immediate happiness” does not clearly express the benefit of competition, “extreme encouragement” is an awkward collocation, and “in job, academics” is not idiomatic. Spelling errors in “prefered” and “competitions” also affect control. Aim for natural collocations and accurate word forms, rather than adding formal-sounding phrases that do not fit the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction (“while there are valid arguments on both sides”) and a conditional structure in the cooperation paragraph. Most sentences remain understandable, so grammatical errors rarely obstruct the message. Some errors in agreement and verb forms are evident, however: “a major argument … is that it provides” shifts from plural “competitions” to singular “it,” and “recent Chinese schools survey show” has problems with the noun phrase and verb agreement. The long sentence beginning “This is primarily because” also contains a confusing sequence of conditional forms (“would … would … would”). Check subject–verb agreement and keep conditional constructions consistent; clearer sentence boundaries would improve control.

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