Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-18

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)

Some people hold the belief that competition is beneficial thing to have at workplaces, academic institutions, and in day-to-day lives, while others believe that one should be more cooperative rather than being competent with each other. I can understand that some people find competition an important factor for performing better, however I feel cooperation is more important to achieve actual goals.

At the outset, the most plausible reason for my opinion is better alternatives and innovative ideas. When the office employees or students perform any task in a group, they have the opportunity to express their ideas and make a fusion of those ideas to create a perfect project or plan. By being cooperative with each other and sharing information, they can certainly get better outcome form those who are having a competition. From my perspective, being in a competitive environment one can only use his limited knowledge. Thus, working in a group is really beneficial when one has to find a solution or a plan for a problem. Another important reason is a friendly environment. Being in a cooperative place, one can perform their tasks with ease and no pressure. If a person is unable to do his task, another one can replace it and the work will continue. Also, in our daily lives one family can easily share the household chores and rather than competing they can collectively clean the house. Such examples can easily prove that cooperation is more significant in every aspect of our lives.

However, a large number of individuals believe that competition provides a sense of motivation to perform better than the other companions. They think that people will not perform better if they have no one to compete with. Nonetheless, it is not evident that only competition can thrive them to perform their best. As appreciation to their work is also beneficial for better performance.

In Conclusion, some people might thing that competition is significant to improve the performance and comparing their tasks, however I state that being in a cooperative environment can provide better results. Therefore, I think can one can be at their best with a toxic competitive environment and it has more detrimental impacts rather than good ones.

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. Your supporting points about combining ideas, sharing tasks, and reducing pressure are relevant, and the household-chores example helps connect the argument to daily life. The opposing view is also acknowledged through the idea that competition motivates people. However, this side is developed less fully: it would benefit from a specific example and a clearer explanation of how competition can improve performance. Some claims about cooperation producing better outcomes are broad, and the final point about a “toxic competitive environment” is not fully reconciled with your earlier recognition of competition’s benefits. Develop and qualify these ideas more evenly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting cooperation, a paragraph presenting competition, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “At the outset,” “However,” and “In Conclusion” make the main stages easy to follow. Within the cooperation paragraph, the ideas move from shared ideas to a friendly environment and then to a household example. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For instance, “From my perspective” does not clearly show how the next claim follows, and “As appreciation to their work is also beneficial” is an abrupt, incomplete link in the competition paragraph. The conclusion also introduces a confusing final claim. Use clearer transitions between claims and ensure each paragraph develops one connected line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “innovative ideas,” “cooperative environment,” “motivation,” and “detrimental impacts.” These choices help communicate the main argument, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “being competent with each other” for competing, “better outcome form those who are having a competition,” and “thrive them to perform.” There are also imprecise or awkward phrases such as “perfect project” and “other companions.” These do not usually prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Focus on common academic collocations and check that the chosen word expresses the intended relationship.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “If a person is unable to do his task…” and clauses beginning with “When” and “While.” Most of the argument remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “I think can one can be at their best” has faulty word order and an unnecessary repeated modal, while “As appreciation to their work is also beneficial” is a sentence fragment. There are also issues with articles and agreement, as in “competition is beneficial thing” and “one family can easily share.” Review sentence completeness, word order, and subject–verb agreement, then proofread longer sentences to ensure their clauses are correctly connected.

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.