Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-26

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 6.5)

While some people argue that competing with colleagues, classmates and even in daily activities is a good thing to practice, others contend that people should be more cooperative than competitive. In my opinion, while competition sometimes brings good outcomes, I firmly believe that people should be more supportive to others.

On the one hand, there are valid reasons why some people support the idea that competition is a good practice in educational institutions, work places and in our daily lives. The primary justification for this is that it helps to achieve goals. People have different goals in their lives and they try hard and soul to accomplish it. For instance, students set a goal initially to finish their semesters and courses with higher grades than others. Similarly, service holders compete with their colleagues to do the assigned job in a better way. Consequently, they earn more appreciations from teachers and bosses and even sometime securing good job positions or better salaries.

On the other hand, I believe that cooperation in our daily lives is a more compelling argument because helping others in their needs is a good way to build social bondage, friendship and recognition. cooperative people always get recognitions from others for their good deeds. To illustrate, people who spend time by doing social work such as helping elders, supporting traumatic people, and assisting drug addicts to become sober are always get a lot of social recognition and public appreciations. Therefore, cooperation is one of the major keys than competition to build a balanced society.

In conclusion, although healthy competitions sometimes prosper people's lives, I reiterate that helping others more valuable practice than competing with others, as assisting people in their need sometimes leads to life long appreciation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear position: competition can have benefits, but people should be more supportive. The examples about students seeking higher grades and employees aiming for better positions make the case for competition relevant, while the social-work examples support cooperation. This meets the task well, and the position is maintained in the conclusion. However, some ideas are more fully explained than others: the competition paragraph focuses mainly on personal achievement and recognition, without considering possible drawbacks, while the cooperation paragraph relies heavily on social recognition rather than explaining how cooperation benefits people more broadly. To strengthen the response further, develop the comparison and explain more precisely why cooperation should take priority in work, education, and daily life.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear four-paragraph structure, with separate paragraphs for the two views and a conclusion that restates your position. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” makes the progression easy to follow. Examples are generally placed beside the claims they support, and “Consequently” and “Therefore” help show relationships between ideas. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the reasoning within paragraphs could be connected more smoothly. For example, the move from students’ grades to employees’ job positions is clear but formulaic, while the cooperation paragraph repeats the idea of recognition. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and make each sentence build on the preceding point rather than simply adding another example.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “compelling argument,” “accomplish,” “social recognition,” and “balanced society.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning remains clear despite some inaccurate or unnatural expressions. There are several word-choice and collocation problems, such as “try hard and soul,” “social bondage,” “traumatic people,” and “public appreciations.” “Cooperative” also begins a sentence without a capital letter. Some repetition of “recognition” and “helping” limits flexibility. Aim to learn vocabulary in natural combinations and check whether a word has the intended meaning in context. More precise phrasing would make the argument sound more fluent and appropriately academic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction (“while competition sometimes brings good outcomes”) and clauses introduced by “because” and “although.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “people who spend time by doing social work … are always get” has an incorrect verb construction; use “people who spend time doing social work … receive.” In “helping others more valuable practice,” the sentence needs a verb, such as “helping others is a more valuable practice.” There are also issues with articles, agreement, and plural forms, as in “a goal … to accomplish it” and “healthy competitions.” Review verb patterns and sentence completeness, while continuing to use varied structures.

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