Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-27

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)

It is widely accepted that, certain individuals consider competition in vrious aspects of life such as workplace, educational environment and even daily situations as benefical, while others think that emphasising collaboration is more effective. This essay will examine both competition and cooperation can enhance overall productivity if they implemented depending on the situation.

To begin with, competition is the integral part of personal growth, it always remains essential in any part of our lives. A human being trend to thrive for levelling up his position in a particular group such as workplace, school and even at the gym. As a result, this can pose a natural competition among individuals, requires constant learning. For example, students at school try to be best to study hard as compared with other classmates, which may be valuable for threir future academic path. Furthermore, a worker at a company endeavours to develop innovative solutions to earn higher compensation or to go higher position. Therefore, it also motivates others to stay productive.

On the other hand, achieving higher goals heavily depends on teamwork, which demands strong collaboration. By cooperating with coworkers, teams can break down complex issues into small chunks, and each member of the team can complete their share of work easily. In addition, when a worker finish his task before the deadline, he or she can give a hand to another coworker, preventing the final product from being delayed.

In conclusion, I believe that an adequate mix of competition and collaboration would be the best optimal solution, as by achieving this organisations, schools and the whole community reach their full potential.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the question and give a clear position: an “adequate mix” of competition and collaboration is best. The discussion of competition includes relevant examples from school and work, and you explain how it can encourage effort and productivity. The cooperation paragraph also gives a practical account of how teams divide complex tasks and help prevent delays. This covers the task well, but the support is uneven: the benefits of cooperation are explained mainly through workplace examples, while the conclusion asserts that a balance helps the whole community without showing how. To strengthen the response, develop the comparison more explicitly—for instance, explain when competition may become harmful and why cooperation is preferable in those circumstances.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your position. The progression within the body paragraphs is generally logical, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the argument. You also use examples to connect claims with explanations. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the opening sentence’s “while” contrast is followed by a thesis that does not clearly preview how the two views will be compared. The competition paragraph also moves quickly from personal growth to school and workplace examples. A more explicit link between each example and your central claim would make the progression more consistently smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including terms such as “collaboration,” “innovative solutions,” “complex issues,” and “productive.” These choices help you discuss both individual motivation and teamwork. You also attempt more formal expressions, but some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “a human being trend to thrive for levelling up his position,” “be best to study hard,” and “go higher position.” Spelling slips, including “vrious,” “benefical,” and “threir,” also reduce accuracy. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your main points, but they limit precision. Aim for natural combinations such as “strive to improve their standing” and check spelling carefully during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while,” “which,” and “when.” This gives the essay some structural variety, and the main ideas remain understandable. However, several grammatical errors recur. For example, “competition is the integral part” needs an article, and “when a worker finish his task” has a subject–verb agreement error. The opening sentence also contains a comma splice between “personal growth” and “it always remains essential,” while “if they implemented” is missing an auxiliary verb. These issues show that complex structures are not yet consistently controlled. Review articles, agreement, verb forms, and sentence boundaries, then proofread each sentence for a complete and correctly connected clause.

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