Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 6.0)

Sports have been an integral part of the human civilization back from the medieval period. As humans progressed, the sporting events went global and people look forward to the events viz Football world cup and Olympics. This gives all the nations participating in the event to collaborate and improve relations but on the flip side, if the countries are at war and they meet in such events, their are chance that the teams might get aggressive and also start competing furiously during the game or the match.

Lets see the positive view, events such as Olympics and Football world cup has provided a global platform for the countries to exchange relations and improve ties under the banner of a sporting event. One such incident was when Portugal and Brazil in a round of 16 match were playing. Both top contenders of winning the football title showed true sportsman spirit and was acknowledge by the world. For the first time both the countries decided to play a series of 3 matches around the school vacations. Also stars like Ronaldo and Neymar were considered in the squad so the brand revenue was also great for both the countries. Additionally, India is a huge market for cricket as a sports. India has been seen helping countries viz. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to develop their cricket infrastructure to host Cricket World cup at their respective countries. In return these small Asian countries procure agriculture goods from India which is a great trading eco system as a whole

Now considering the flip side, Their has been instances where players have been seen in an aggressive mode and also cheat just to secure the 1st spot during the competition. One such event was during the Asia Cup where the India met Pakistan in the finals, this international event was scheduled just after a war like situation and this affected the emotions and peace of the players as well. The players refrained from even shaking hands with each other after the match and abusive language was used during the entire match which is not considered as a good spirit. Another incident was registered when the sprinter from Ghana was caught consuming drugs just before the race as he just wanted to secure the 1st spot to defeat his old German rival, who was easily defeating him in the last three Olympics event

In my opinion, International sporting events are great way to bring countries together. There are few concrete reasons for that. Firstly, the revenue from such event is huge and all the countries get their share which helps to develop the infrastructure. Secondly majority of the players play in a good spirit of the game which indirectly effect the relations between the countries. Finally if the experienced countries are helping the beginner one's, this can improve faith and mutual respect amongst one another and shall also improve trading opportunities in the future

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and state a clear opinion that international sporting events generally bring countries together. The positive case is supported with examples involving cricket development and cooperation, while the India–Pakistan match illustrates how political tension can affect players. This meets the task well, and the specific examples show an effort to extend your ideas. However, some support is unclear or not fully connected to the question: the Portugal–Brazil example shifts to arranging matches and commercial revenue, and the Ghana sprinter example focuses on doping rather than friendship between countries. Your conclusion gives several reasons, but claims such as shared revenue improving relations would benefit from clearer explanation. Develop the strongest examples more directly to make the discussion more consistently convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph supporting cooperation, a paragraph on competition, and a concluding opinion. Signposting such as “Now considering the flip side” and “In my opinion” helps readers follow the main stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes uneven. In the positive paragraph, the discussion moves from sportsmanship to scheduling matches, brand revenue, and trade without clearly showing how each point supports the central claim. Some references, including “this” and “these small Asian countries,” could be more precise. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Finally” make the conclusion easy to follow but can feel mechanical. Group related points and explain the links between examples and claims more explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “global platform,” “sportsman spirit,” “infrastructure,” “mutual respect,” and “trading opportunities.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and some less common expressions show an attempt to discuss international relations beyond sport itself. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “exchange relations,” “trading eco system,” and “a good spirit.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “their” for “there” and “acknowledge” where “acknowledged” is needed. These do not usually prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and naturalness. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and check spelling and word forms during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and subordinate structures, as in “if the countries are at war and they meet in such events.” The overall meaning is generally understandable, and the response includes some longer sentences that connect reasons and examples. However, some grammatical errors recur. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “events … has provided” and “the India met Pakistan”; articles and plurals are also problematic in phrases such as “a good spirit” and “Olympics event.” There are tense and sentence-boundary issues, and several sentences run on, particularly in the opening and the cricket example. Use shorter sentences where needed, and check agreement, articles, and punctuation while retaining a range of structures.

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