Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-22

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 a significant debate over the significance of competition and cooperation in professional, academics and daily life. The proponents of competition reckon it to be the integral part of human psyche and evolution while that of cooperation favor it to sustain harmony in society. This essay will discuss both views before agreeing with the former as success cannot be achieved only by surpassing others in a competition.

Those who supports a competitive environment in daily life base their argument on how human psychology works and the phenomenon of survival of the fittest. If a person wants to achieve greatness and intend to grow in life, he can never depend or cooperate with anyone else to attain his goals. Rather, he might get soft at heart and eventually get disarray from his own chosen path by shaking hands with others.It is a historical fact that the great men in any field whether in Literature, Philosophy or Science always stood fast to their own ambitions and never had anyone else by their side for support. For instance, Karl Marx, Francis Bacon, Oppenheimer, all went against society instead of cooperation.

Nevertheless, there are some people who champion the cause of a copperative society. They believe mutual harmony is the need of modern world. The argument is rooted in coming out from the history filled with war and terror, and the fact that current globalized world cannot function efficiently without mutual respect and peace among all of the nations. For instance, the benefits of e-commerce cannot be achieved by countries who exhibit hostility towards its neighbours and resultantly, lags behind in the global financial race.

Conclusively, I believe that the trend of mutual respect and cooperation is just another mask employed by the developed nations to stay ahead from other smaller countries in the name of cooperation and if a person, nation or society wants to achieve greatness, must become fit enough to surpass and survive alone every time period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the discussion and give a clear preference for competition, so the response is relevant to the task. The competition paragraph offers a rationale based on ambition and survival, while the cooperation paragraph links international cooperation to peace and trade. However, the position is not fully consistent: the introduction says success cannot be achieved “only by surpassing others,” which suggests a balanced view, whereas the conclusion argues that people and nations must “surpass and survive alone.” Some support is also unclear or over-generalised, particularly the claim that notable thinkers “never had anyone else by their side for support.” Develop each view with more convincing, directly relevant examples and clarify whether you favour competition, cooperation, or a balance of both.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “Nevertheless” and “Conclusively” helps readers follow the broad direction, and the examples are placed alongside the relevant arguments. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because claims are linked without enough explanation. For example, the move from ambition to becoming “soft at heart” does not clearly show why cooperation prevents achievement. The conclusion also shifts the argument toward developed nations using cooperation as a mask, an idea not established in the body. Use clearer links between claim, explanation, and example, and make the final position follow logically from the discussion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonably broad range of vocabulary for the topic, including “survival of the fittest,” “mutual harmony,” “globalized world,” and “hostility.” These choices show an effort to express abstract ideas, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. Some less common expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, however: “get disarray from his own chosen path,” “champion the cause of a copperative society,” and “stay ahead from other smaller countries” weaken precision. There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “copperative” and “academics” where the context calls for a noun describing the field. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling; precise, familiar phrasing will communicate your arguments more effectively than ambitious but unclear expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including complex clauses beginning “If a person wants to achieve greatness” and “while that of cooperation favor it.” Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “Those who supports” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “a person … must become” lacks the expected subject in the conditional construction. The sentence beginning “For instance, Karl Marx…” is also a fragment, while “countries … resultantly, lags behind” has an agreement problem. Punctuation and spacing need attention, particularly the missing space after “others.” and the comma splice-like construction in the final sentence. Review agreement, complete sentence structure, and punctuation while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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