Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-20

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)

In todays world of competition, people need to prepare themselves in every way possible. A proportion of people think competition should be encouraged in school, offices and in daily life to prepare them for future, while others think that cooperation is more essential. In my opinion, having healthy competition among peers is beneficial for development.

The most apparant reason why competition is a intergal part of humans is to excel. In academic setting, children constantly strive to achieve higher grades, and this drives them towards excellence and success. For instance, some children may put in more effort in exams, similarly in workplace colleageus may demonstrate higher performance for incentives, that can increase the productivity and innovation. In contrast, while cooperating people may share there work with others and limit there potential.

On the other hand, cooperation can be incentivized with the support of their colleagues. In education children are often asked to work in group projects and presentations that led to essential skills social skills including communication and empathy. In corporate culture people work in teams, which foster cooperation and support among colleageus. In cutthroat competition can result in excessive struggles and toxic work environment, where employee will look for personal gains rather than collective achievements, and this can harm the organisation.

In conclusion, while cooperation fosters support from their team members, encouraging harmonious work environment, I believe competition is more beneficial for overall development, while driving individual achievements and innovations that can lead to success in schools and workplaces and in society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference for healthy competition in the introduction and conclusion. The discussion of competition is supported with relevant examples, such as students striving for higher grades and employees responding to incentives. You also explain how group projects can build communication and empathy, and acknowledge that intense rivalry may create a toxic workplace. This meets the task well overall, but the two views are not developed equally: the claim that cooperation can make people “limit their potential” is asserted rather than explained, and the benefits of cooperation could be explored more fully before your judgement. To strengthen the response, explain the conditions under which cooperation is especially effective and make the comparison between the two approaches more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for competition and cooperation, and a conclusion that restates your position. Linking phrases such as “In contrast,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. The progression is generally logical, but some connections are abrupt or unclear. For example, “In contrast, while cooperating people may share there work with others and limit there potential” does not clearly show how this point contrasts with the preceding example. The cooperation paragraph also moves quickly from educational benefits to workplace culture and then to the risks of competition. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the point it supports; this would make the cohesion less mechanical and the argument easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “strive,” “excellence,” “productivity,” “innovation,” “empathy,” and “toxic work environment.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and some less common terms show an effort to be precise. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, including “apparent,” “integral,” “colleagues,” and “cutthroat competition” in its current sentence. Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “prepare them for future” and “cooperation can be incentivized with the support of their colleagues.” Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully. More precise wording would help distinguish healthy competition from excessive rivalry and clarify the benefits of cooperation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while” and “where,” and most of the argument remains understandable. Some grammatical errors are present, particularly with articles, pronouns, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “competition is a intergal part” needs an article and noun-form correction, while “share there work” uses the wrong pronoun form. In “some children may put in more effort in exams, similarly in workplace colleageus may demonstrate higher performance,” the clauses are joined awkwardly and the second lacks an article. The sentence beginning “In cutthroat competition can result” also has an incomplete construction. Review articles and pronoun forms, and use full, clearly joined clauses when combining examples. This will improve accuracy while preserving your attempts at complex structures.

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