Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-28

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)

It is often argued that competition at different sectors of life is beneficial for people while others give counter-argument that individuals should focus more on co-operation than attempting to compete against each-other in order to create a more friendly environment in every sphere of life.

On the one hand, individuals tend to compete with others to secure a better place in the fast-paced world as they often believe in the idea of the survival of the fittest. That is why, people are trained from an early age to follow a structured life where they have to come first to survive in the competitive world. However, it is considered fruitful because people can gain more knowledge and experience through face-off with others. For example, when students have to compete their classmates, they tend to search for more innovative ways to acquire and learn any new idea that might impress others. They can also learn a number of qualities from a strong competition. In everyday life, it is more beneficial as people can stay in track and complete their works in time.

On the other hand, people often choose co-operation over competition because they believe the most fruitful learning happens when people help each-other and share their ideas with others. This way, everyone can acquire the most beneficial knowledge and implement those in the practical life. For example, individuals can learn more when they share ideas with others but in competitions, most of the time they tend to hide their unique ideas so that they can get the first palce over everyone.

In my opinion, it is important to co-operate with each-other to create a friendly and amicable environment of never-ending learning process rather than doing competition that might create anguish among people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear preference for cooperation in the final paragraph. The competition section gives relevant reasons, including motivation to gain knowledge and stay on track, while the cooperation section explains how sharing ideas can support learning. However, these points are not developed equally: the benefits of competition are illustrated with a student example, but the cooperation argument relies mainly on a general comparison and would benefit from a specific example. Your opinion is also brief and could explain more fully why cooperation should take priority, while recognising when competition may be useful. Developing these ideas with clearer reasoning and support would make the response more complete and persuasive.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a concluding opinion. The signposts “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” make the discussion easy to follow, and examples are placed alongside the relevant arguments. This meets the lower-band expectation for coherent organisation and shows some of the stronger progression associated with more flexible cohesion. However, links within paragraphs sometimes feel mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “because” and “For example,” and the final opinion is not fully connected to the preceding discussion. Use a wider range of linking methods and make the relationship between each claim, explanation, and example more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “survival of the fittest,” “innovative,” “amicable,” and “practical life.” These choices help communicate ideas about motivation and shared learning, and the meaning is generally clear. There are also some inaccurate or unnatural collocations that limit precision, such as “compete their classmates,” “stay in track,” and “first palce.” Phrases such as “face-off with others” and “anguish among people” are not the most natural choices in this context. Aim to use common academic collocations accurately rather than reaching for a less familiar expression; proofreading spelling and checking word forms will also improve control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “because they believe…” and “so that they can…”. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the response shows an attempt to vary sentence structure. Some grammatical errors remain, however. For example, “when students have to compete their classmates” is missing the appropriate grammatical construction, and “the most fruitful learning happens” would be clearer with an article before “most fruitful learning” or a different noun phrase. There are also inconsistencies in hyphenation and punctuation around compound expressions. Review sentence patterns after verbs such as “compete,” and check articles and punctuation when editing.

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