Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-31

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)

Having a competitive personality in office, educational institutes, and even in daily routine is often considered a good notion but some people think against it, and have a more cooperative mindset. While both arguments are valid and can be justified, I personally believe that having an equillibrium is an ideal solution in every situation.

Firstly, competition in any environment such as at work, at school or even in our day-to-day life has become a normal thing to see. Over the years, people have started to treat everything as a contest and this attitude has been provoked more. For example, any task given at work or school is treated more like game to win rather than a normal thing to do. Same thing happens in our daily routine when we approach any kind of chore. While people mostly look at the downside of this attitude, there are some advantages of being competitive as well. One such advantage is that it motivates and encourages you to do better at any job. It increases the overall efficiency of any institute as individuals try to push their limits to their ultimate potential. One such example is of schools during exam periods. Students try their best in achieving maximum marks and doing better than others which leads to a good result of the entire institute.

On the contrary, many people believe that being more cooperative is better than competing against each other. This assertion also has its own good side. Teamwork and synergy have often times proven to be a better way of handling things. Cooperation teaches you the basic ethics of life. It helps to build bonds between different groups of people and makes a person more compliant. Furthermore, it trains an individual to live in a diverse environment with other people in harmony. For instance, employees handling a task at work in groups get it done in less time than the ones who do it alone. They also build friendships while solving the task and learn from others' experiences. Besides, cooperation also helps to reduce stress and work load.

Ultimately, being competitive and cooperative are both essential in solving any kind of problem life throws at us. Maintainin

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You discuss both competition and cooperation and state a clear position: “having an equilibrium is an ideal solution.” Relevant support includes competition motivating students to achieve higher marks and teamwork helping employees finish tasks sooner. This covers the task, but the two sides are not developed equally in depth: the competition examples are somewhat general, and the conclusion begins to restate your view without fully explaining how the two approaches should be balanced. The claim that competition improves an institute’s overall efficiency, for example, would be stronger with a specific explanation of how individual performance benefits others. Develop your opinion with a practical distinction—such as competing on personal goals while cooperating on shared tasks—and connect it directly to the examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph for each viewpoint, and a concluding paragraph. Signposting such as “Firstly,” “On the contrary,” and “Ultimately” helps readers follow the discussion, and examples generally appear alongside the relevant claims. However, some links feel mechanical, and ideas within paragraphs occasionally repeat or shift without a clear progression. For instance, the competition paragraph moves from the prevalence of contests to their benefits, but the relationship between these points could be made more explicit. The final paragraph also ends abruptly after “Maintainin,” leaving the conclusion incomplete. Use clearer transitions between claims and examples, and ensure the final paragraph fully synthesises both views and your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “competitive,” “cooperative,” “synergy,” “efficiency,” and “diverse environment.” These choices allow you to discuss both individual performance and teamwork, and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, some inaccurate or unnatural word choices and collocations, such as “a good notion,” “provoked more,” “compliant,” and “work load.” “Equilibrium” is also misspelled as “equillibrium,” and “day-to-day” is repeated in a similar context. Aim for more precise, natural phrasing and check spelling: for example, describe competition as “increasingly common,” and say cooperation makes people “more considerate” rather than “more compliant.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “While people mostly look at the downside…” and relative clauses such as “employees handling a task at work in groups.” Most sentences communicate their meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. Examples include the missing article in “treated more like game,” the awkward construction “One such example is of schools,” and the incomplete final sentence, “Maintainin…”. There are also punctuation and spacing issues, including the extra space in the opening sentence. Review articles and sentence completion, and proofread punctuation carefully. More consistently accurate complex sentences would make your argument easier to read while preserving the range you already attempt.

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