Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-30

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 a segment of society contends that competition at work, at school and in day-to-day life is beneficial, others maintain that cooperation among individuals is more important than competition.

Although there are valid arguments regarding competition among people at different stages of life, I firmly side with the latter perspective due to the reason that cooperation, respect, and harmony among the members of a society are crucial for developing cohesion.

On the one hand, supporters of competition base their position on the idea that success and motivation at school, work, and in daily living are encouraged through creating a competitive environment. This motivates individuals to work hard, and dedicate their time and energy in order to win. Organizations often use positive reinforcement to externally motivate the individuals about working hard to win rewards. This strategy works well, the students, and employees feel the urge to step out of their comfort zones and put efforts to get rewards. For example, the environment of schools is quite competitive nowadays, the administration gives different prizes to the hard-working and active students. Consequently, the students feel motivated to study hard and get good grades which enhances the reputation of schools.

On the other hand, competition promotes the culture of hatred and psychological distress among students and employees. Everyone wants to be successful and they do not think it right to share their skills with others. This has adverse effects on the bonding between friends and causes disruption in society. Cooperation among the members of a community is crucial for promoting well-being, interpersonal harmony, and respect. To support, when students are cooperative in class with their peers, helping them during a difficult phase of their studies, then this will lead to supporting learning environment. The average result of whole class will be improved rather then just one or two students with high scores.

In conclusion, while the arguments favouring competition at different social settings are understandable, they are ultimately outweighted by the benefits of cooperation. I am convinced that cooperation is crucial for social prosperity and welfare.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both sides of the discussion and state a clear preference for cooperation in the introduction and conclusion. The competition paragraph explains how rewards can motivate students and employees, with the school-prize example making the point relevant. You also explain that competition may damage relationships and contrast individual high scores with improved class-wide results through cooperation. This covers the task well, but the two views are not developed equally: the case for competition relies mainly on motivation and rewards, while the cooperation argument includes broader social benefits. Some claims, such as competition creating a “culture of hatred,” would be more convincing if qualified or supported with a specific example. More balanced development and precise support would strengthen the response further. (The response meets the required length; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion that restates your position. “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” make the contrast easy to follow, and the examples generally appear beside the ideas they support. The progression within paragraphs is sometimes less smooth, however. For instance, “This strategy works well, the students…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma, and the shift from competition’s benefits to its harms could be signposted more precisely. Some references, such as “This” and “they,” require the reader to infer exactly which idea or people are meant. Use clearer links between claims and examples, and vary transitions so cohesion feels less formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “positive reinforcement,” “externally motivate,” “psychological distress,” “interpersonal harmony,” and “social prosperity.” These choices help you discuss both practical and social effects, and the meaning remains clear. There are also some inaccurate or unnatural combinations that limit precision: “the average result of whole class” and “supporting learning environment” do not sound idiomatic, while “outweighted” is an incorrect form. “Day-to-day life” is natural, but phrases such as “different social settings” could be made more specific. Aim to use collocations you can control confidently, and check word forms and spelling during revision; this would make the vocabulary more flexible and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concession in “Although there are valid arguments…” and conditional phrasing in “when students are cooperative… then this will lead…”. Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. The sentence “This strategy works well, the students…” contains a comma splice; “the average result of whole class” is missing an article; and “rather then just one or two students” has an incorrect comparative construction. The long sentence beginning “To support, when students…” is also awkwardly structured, making the relationship between the condition and result less controlled. Separate complete clauses with a full stop or conjunction, and check articles and sentence boundaries. Greater accuracy across these structures would improve control.

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