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)

Few individual argue that competition is healthy at school, work and in daily life while, other thinks that instead of competition we should try to help each other more. In my opinion, competition is a good thing when took positively, it encouraged people to do more hardwork, but it is not good enough to apply in every aspect of life.

On the one hand, competition is a healthy at work or school. It helps people to gain their goals and to be financially independent ultimately. For instance, when there is a competition at school related to studies, students will focus on their studies more becuase they have some goal to achieve, ultimately those students who perform well in that competition will get admission in reputed universities for higher studies, which help them to learn and gain better skill set required for their better future. Same goes with competition at work, it helps specifically those people who have ability to do better but never do it becuase they have no specific motive to achieve other than monthly basic salary. So, when there is a competition and reward for winners, those workers will definitely work better and take part in competition to achieve that reward.

On the other hand, competition can create negative effects as well when applying on every aspect of life, mainly on daily life. It will create negative effects on society. For example, when there is always competition among people of society to have expensive things and looks better regarding clothes and daily wear accessories, it will not just effect the low lying people but also effect the mindset of our children. They will never respect other people especially those who cannot afford expensive things. So, we should try to help each other in the society at humanity level and shouldn't create the situation of competition in it.

In conclusion, competition can be both good or bad, it depends where it is being implied. A balanced approach works best. At schools and work places competition should be held occasionally, it helps students and workers to boost their confidence and also to assess their abilities. But in daily life there shouldn't be any competition and people should try to help each other.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You discuss both perspectives and state a consistent position: competition can motivate people at school and work, but should not dominate daily life. The examples about students aiming for university admission and employees responding to rewards support the first view, while the comparison over expensive clothes illustrates a possible social cost. This covers the task well. However, some points are more fully developed than others: the benefits of competition receive detailed explanation, whereas cooperation is mainly presented as a recommendation to help others, with little explanation of how cooperation works or what it achieves. The claim that competition affects children’s respect for others could also be explained more precisely. Developing these points and weighing the two approaches more explicitly would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction gives your position, two body paragraphs present contrasting views, and the conclusion restates your balanced approach. Progression within the paragraphs is generally logical, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. You also use examples to connect claims with supporting detail. At times, however, the long school example contains several linked outcomes in one sentence, making the progression harder to track. Repeated use of “competition” and “it” also makes some connections feel mechanical or less precise. Break up the longest sentences and use clearer references or varied transitions to make cohesion more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “financially independent,” “motive,” “reward,” “mindset,” and “balanced approach.” These choices show an attempt to discuss motivation and social effects beyond very basic terms. However, noticeable word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems limit precision: “gain their goals” is not a natural expression, “do more hardwork” is awkward, and “effect” is used where “affect” is needed as a verb. There are also spelling errors such as “becuase,” and phrases like “low lying people” are unclear in this context. Build accuracy by learning common word partnerships and checking spelling and word forms; this will make your ideas easier to understand without changing their meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and subordinate structures such as “when there is a competition at school” and “when applying on every aspect of life.” This allows you to explain causes and consequences, and the overall meaning is usually clear. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “when took positively” needs a complete passive form, and “it encouraged people” does not match the present-tense argument. In “those students … will get admission … which help them,” the relative clause has an agreement problem. Several sentences also run on through multiple clauses. Review verb forms and agreement, and divide long sentences into shorter, controlled units.

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