Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that international sports events, such as The Olympics or the Football World Cup, are a good way to bring countries together. Others say that these events create competition, not friendship, between countries.

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)

Some individuals think that organizing elite sporting events, such as the Olympics or the Football World Cup, is an excellent method to strengthen unity among nations, while others feel that rivalaries and enemity is being created by these events. Although spectators can exaggerate existing jealousy, I believe these events are a great way to form good relations because individuals and players get to know the culture of a country.

Travelling to different countries for play can expose athletes and people to the culture and traditions of an area. By learning the culture of an area, they are more likely to respect opponent's team players and, they can develop mutual understanding with their opponents. After the match, they can engage with opponent's team players and exchange their ideas, challenging stereotypes. For instance, during a break between matches, they can interact with each other and form good relations. I believe this trend helps in maintaining good relation between nations.

On the other hand, spectators can develop a negative perception of a country if a host country is not able to accept their defeat wisely. There are the chances of fights and verbal abuse among players and those who watch matches, which can lead to hostility, and internet has exacerbated this issue because inflamattory comments can posted online. For instance, in 2010, there was the cricket match between Australia and India, where spectators fought when the umpire gave a wrong decision. However, these instances are rare, and I believe international sports events are beneficial to maintain good relation between nations.

To conclude, although it is a possibility that spectators can turn hostile when there is a competition between different nations, I believe that elite sporting events is a fantastic approach to develop peace and unity among nations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that international sports events foster unity and that they create competition and rivalry—while also presenting a clear personal position throughout. The main ideas are generally relevant and supported, as seen in the discussion of cultural exchange and spectator reactions. However, some ideas feel slightly under-developed and lack extension. For instance, the point about athletes exchanging ideas is introduced but not fully explored with a concrete example, relying instead on a vague mention of breaking stereotypes. To reach a higher level, the response would need to develop its supporting points more fully and provide specific, detailed examples rather than generalized statements. Note that the 10 words copied directly from the prompt were excluded from the official count, leaving the response safely above the minimum length requirement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the introduction, through the two body paragraphs discussing opposing views, to a distinct concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate each main idea, such as separating the benefits of cultural exposure from the negative perceptions held by spectators. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, with transitional phrases like 'Although', 'On the other hand', and 'To conclude' functioning adequately. However, referencing and cohesion can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition between sentences in the second paragraph could be smoother, and referencing pronouns like 'they' sometimes creates slight ambiguity regarding whether the writer is referring to athletes or spectators. Developing a more flexible and varied use of cohesive ties would elevate this aspect further.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'rivalaries', 'enemity', 'exacerbated', and 'inflamattory'. While the range is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, there are several noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies that prevent a higher band. For instance, 'rivalaries' contains a spelling error, 'enemity' is misspelled and used in a plural form where the uncountable form is expected, and 'inflamattory' is misspelled. Furthermore, collocations like 'accept their defeat wisely' and 'maintain good relation' feel slightly unnatural and would be expressed more natively in other terms. These errors do not impede communication, but eliminating them and refining word choice and spelling will significantly strengthen the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as concessive clauses ('Although spectators can exaggerate...') and conditional elements effectively. There is a good attempt at varied sentence architecture throughout the response. However, there are some persistent errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, there is a subject-verb agreement error with 'rivalaries and enemity is', an issue with article usage and singular/plural consistency in 'opponent's team players', and a comma splice error in the second paragraph ('...respect opponent's team players and, they can develop...'). Additionally, prepositional patterns and awkward phrasings like 'there are the chances of fights' affect overall accuracy. Despite these errors, the grammar rarely impedes communication, and the sentence structures remain generally clear and comprehensible to the reader.

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