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 workplace, educational institutions and everyday life in beneficial, while other believe that cooeration is more important then competing with each other. Although competition can motivate people to improve their perfomances but i believe that cooperation is more fruitful as it promotes the teamwork and help people to achieve common goals.

On the one hand, competition can be useful because it encourages people to work harder and improve their skills. For example, students may study harder to get better marks than their classmates. Similarly, workers may try to do their jobs well to get a promotion. As a result, competition can help people improve their abilities and achieve their goals.

On the other hand, cooperation is important because people can learn from each other and solve problems together. For instance, students working in a group can share ideas and help each other understand difficult topics. In the same way, employees can finish their work more easily when they support one another. Therefore, cooperation helps people work better as a team and build good relationships.

In conclusion, competition helps people improve their performance, while cooperation teaches them to work together. In my opinion, cooperation is more important because people can share ideas, support each other and achieve better results. However, both competition and cooperation have their own benefits in daily life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state a clear preference for cooperation, especially in the introduction and conclusion. The examples about students studying for higher marks and employees supporting one another are relevant. However, the discussion is brief and the ideas are mostly asserted rather than developed: for example, you say cooperation helps people “achieve common goals” but do not explain how this may outweigh the motivation created by competition. The response also falls 24 words short of the required minimum, which limits the space available to develop your reasoning. To strengthen the response, explain each view in more depth and add a specific example or consequence supporting your opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The progression from competition to cooperation is easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” guide the reader effectively. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, the links are somewhat formulaic, and ideas within paragraphs are often listed rather than connected through explanation. For example, the student and worker examples could be followed by a sentence showing how each supports the paragraph’s main point. Develop these links and vary transitions to make the progression more natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “competition,” “cooperation,” “promotion,” “share ideas,” and “common goals.” Some phrases, such as “solve problems together” and “build good relationships,” are appropriate to the topic. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling or word-choice errors reduce accuracy, including “cooeration,” “perfomances,” and “then” where “than” is intended. There are also awkward collocations, such as “competition at workplace” and “promotes the teamwork.” Aim to use more precise expressions and check spelling carefully. For example, “competition in the workplace” and “encourages teamwork” would sound more natural and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “Although” and examples introduced with “because” and “when.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but there are some errors in sentence construction and agreement. In “Although competition can motivate people to improve their performances but i believe…,” the contrast structure is incorrectly combined with “but”; use either “Although …, I believe …” or “Competition can motivate …, but I believe ….” In “cooperation … help people,” the verb should agree with the singular subject: “helps.” Capitalise “I,” and check articles and plural forms, as in “at the workplace.” More accurate control of these patterns would improve clarity.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.