Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 is an ongoing debate about whether the employee should have a sense of competitiveness or cooperativeness and which brings best out of people. I believe that the cooperative culture in the working space tends to reward more than competing with each other.

One major reason for the people to advocate the need of competitiveness is driven by people's ego to out perform each other. Competition among employees or students will help them to bring the best version of themselves, resulting in better efficiency in their work. For example, a student who was average in academics compares himself with the topper in the class, which gives him a motivation to study. As a result, competing natures increses the quality of the work that is being done by the people.

However, people supporting the need for existence of team work in work culture often says that competiveness spoils team environment. People working with competitiveness often see their colleague as a competitor which destroys the team bonding. A company will benefit if everyone starts to work as a team. As a result, the fierce duel between people on work does not benefit the company in longer rum. In addition to this, this duel nature in work will turn people as a robot, just aim to outplay his colleague, which sometimes decreases the output in the work.

To conclude, although competiveness can help bring the best version among people, its ability to isolate people away from team and alters the perception of employee demands the need of cooperativeness in everyday life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You discuss both perspectives and state a clear preference for cooperation in the introduction and conclusion. The competition paragraph gives a relevant example of a student motivated by comparing himself with a high achiever, while the cooperation paragraph explains possible harm to teamwork and company performance. This covers the task well, but the two sides are not developed equally: the benefits of competition are explained more concretely than the benefits of cooperation, which are mostly presented as avoiding negative effects. The claim that competition can make people “a robot” also needs clearer explanation. To strengthen the response, explain a positive outcome of cooperation, such as sharing expertise or solving problems more effectively, and support it with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each view, and a conclusion that restates your position. Transitions such as “However,” “As a result,” and “In addition to this” help signal relationships between ideas, and the student example gives the first body paragraph a logical progression. Some linking is mechanical, however, particularly the repeated use of “As a result,” and the second body paragraph moves from team bonding to company outcomes and then to people becoming “a robot” without fully connecting those points. Make the progression more explicit by explaining how reduced trust affects collaboration and results. Clearer references and less repetitive linking would make the organisation more fluent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “competitiveness,” “team environment,” “team bonding,” and “output,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which limits precision: “brings best out of people,” “need for existence of team work,” and “in longer rum” do not sound natural in this context. There are also spelling errors, including “increses” and “competiveness.” Aim to learn vocabulary in common combinations and check spelling carefully. More precise expressions such as “bring out the best in people,” “the importance of teamwork,” and “in the long run” would make your argument clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “a student who was average in academics” and a concession structure beginning “although.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “people supporting … often says” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “which brings best out of people” has an unclear grammatical reference and missing article. In “will turn people as a robot,” the verb pattern is incorrect, while “just aim to outplay his colleague” does not agree with the plural “people.” Review agreement, articles, and verb patterns, and proofread longer sentences to ensure each pronoun clearly refers to the intended noun.

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