Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-15

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 7.0)

Competition and comparison are both part of human society, and people disagree about which one deserves more emphasis. I believe that cooperation should be the foundation , with healthy competition used in the moderation.

Supporters of competition argues that it drives people to improve. In the workplace, employees who compete for promotions or bonuses often work harder and become more productive.

Similarly, students who compete for top grades or scholarships tends to study more seriously. Competition also fuels innovations in daily life. For instance, rivalry between smartphones companies like Apple and Samsung has let to better products at lower cost for customers. In this scense healthy competion rewards talent and effort.

On the other hand those who favour cooperation believe that working together produces better and more lasting results. Most modern jobs requires teamwork, and an office where collegues hide information from echother are rarely successful.

In schools group projects teach pupils problem-solving skills and communication that exam cannot measure. Moreover , excessive competition can demage mental health.Students under constant pressure to outperform classmates often suffers from stress and anxiety. Cooperation , by contrast, builds trust and a sense of community.

In my opinion, a balance is needed , but cooperation should come first. Competition is useful when it is friendly and motivates people to do their best. However, when it becomes the main goal, it can create an unhealthy rivalry. In my experieces , while doing group study I have learned a lot instead of studying alone and competing with other classmates.

In conclusion , while competition can inspires effort and innovation, cooperation builds skills, relationships and well-being. Societies should encourage teamwork as a norm and use competition only as a supplement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response addresses both sides of the discussion and maintains a clear position: cooperation should be the foundation, while competition can be useful when healthy. The workplace, school and smartphone examples support the argument, and the conclusion reinforces the same view. This fits a strong response because the main ideas are extended with relevant reasons rather than simply listed. To make the discussion more fully developed, explain the examples’ implications in greater depth—for instance, clarify how competition between companies leads to better products, or when competition at school may be beneficial rather than harmful. The personal group-study example is relevant, but a little more detail about what was learned would strengthen its support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The essay has a clear overall progression: it introduces the position, presents the benefits of competition, contrasts these with cooperation, and ends with a balanced conclusion. Paragraphing is appropriate, and signposts such as “Similarly,” “On the other hand,” “Moreover,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument. The central position also remains consistent. Some links feel slightly formulaic, and punctuation around transitions is inconsistent, as in “On the other hand those who favour cooperation” and “Moreover ,”. For a more polished progression, use transitions selectively and connect examples more explicitly to the point they illustrate. The reference to personal experience could also be integrated more smoothly into the argument about cooperation.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range for discussing the topic, including useful terms such as “productive,” “rivalry,” “outperform,” “mental health,” and “sense of community.” The writer also attempts more specific expressions, such as “fuels innovations” and “a supplement,” showing some ambition. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “scense,” “competion,” “demage,” and “experieces” make the writing less accurate, while “smartphones companies” and “better products at lower cost” are awkwardly expressed. These errors do not prevent understanding, but careful proofreading and more natural collocations would improve precision. Aim to use topic vocabulary accurately rather than adding ambitious phrases that are not yet fully controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“employees who compete…”) and contrast structures (“when it becomes the main goal…”). Most ideas remain clear, but some grammatical errors recur. Subject–verb agreement is inaccurate in “Supporters of competition argues,” “students… tends,” “Most modern jobs requires,” and “often suffers.” There are also article and punctuation problems, such as “in the moderation” and spaces before commas or missing spaces after full stops. These are some errors that rarely obstruct meaning, but they reduce control. Review agreement with plural subjects and proofread articles and sentence punctuation; this will make the existing range of structures more reliable.

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