Prompt
Discuss both views – Team sports
Some people believe team sports teach important life skills, while others think individual sports are better. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
Band 9 sample answer
Band 9 sample answer
Sentence-by-sentence analysis
Anatomy of a Band 9 Essay
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Analysed against the four IELTS Writing assessment criteria. Each note explains how this specific sentence supports the essay.
Paragraph 1: Introduction — presents both sporting perspectives and gives a qualified preference for team sports
People disagree about whether team or individual sports are more valuable for personal development. Proponents of team games say they teach cooperation and other workplace-ready abilities, whereas supporters of solo sports argue they build deeper self-discipline. This essay discusses both perspectives and argues that team sports usually provide a wider set of life skills, although individual disciplines can be exceptionally effective for some personalities.
“More valuable for personal development” efficiently reframes the question around the comparative benefit both sides are debating.
The parallel structure presents each view through its strongest claimed benefit, using “whereas” to establish a balanced contrast between interpersonal and individual development.
The position is clear but qualified: team sports are preferred for breadth of life skills, while the writer acknowledges that individual sports may suit particular people especially well.
Paragraph 2: Body 1 — develops the interpersonal and emotional skills associated with team sports
Those who favour team sports emphasise that they require constant interaction and shared decision-making. In sports such as football, basketball or hockey, players must communicate quickly, interpret others’ intentions and accept different roles for the sake of a common plan. These habits mirror adult life: colleagues coordinate tasks, compromise, and sometimes follow rather than lead. Team settings also teach conflict management, because disagreements with referees, opponents or even teammates are inevitable. Learning to take feedback from a coach, apologise after a mistake and refocus on the next play develops emotional control and accountability.
The topic sentence identifies the mechanism behind the first view: team games repeatedly require people to coordinate decisions rather than merely exercising alongside others.
The three precise behaviours—communicating, interpreting intentions and accepting roles—show what cooperation actually consists of within a team environment.
The colon explicitly connects sporting behaviour to life beyond sport, which is crucial because the question concerns transferable life skills rather than athletic performance alone.
The paragraph develops beyond cooperation by adding a second transferable skill, conflict management, and explains why team competition naturally creates opportunities to practise it.
The gerund subject packages three related behaviours into a controlled structure and links them to two broader life skills: emotional regulation and responsibility for one’s actions.
Paragraph 3: Body 2 — develops the self-discipline and independence associated with individual sports
By contrast, individual sports like swimming, athletics and tennis can nurture independence and mental toughness more directly. Since performance is highly visible and responsibility cannot be shared, athletes are pushed to set their own goals, analyse weaknesses and persevere through solitary training sessions. For instance, a runner preparing for a marathon must follow a plan for months, often in poor weather, which strengthens persistence and intrinsic motivation. Individual competition can also sharpen concentration, because a lapse in focus immediately affects results.
“By contrast” clearly marks the opposing view, while the sentence gives solo sports their own distinct developmental strengths rather than treating them as inferior from the outset.
The causal subordinate clause explains why individual sports foster self-reliance: responsibility remains with the athlete, leading naturally to independent goal-setting, self-analysis and persistence.
The marathon example develops the abstract claim through sustained solitary preparation, showing how self-discipline is built through repeated action rather than simply asserted.
A further benefit is supported by a direct mechanism: without teammates to compensate, an individual athlete experiences the consequences of lost concentration immediately.
Paragraph 4: Conclusion — weighs both views and confirms the preference for team sports
In my view, while solo sports are excellent for building self-reliance, team sports are better for most people because modern study and employment depend heavily on collaboration, communication and leadership. Ideally, schools should offer both so students gain balanced strengths and can choose what suits them best.
The conclusion explicitly weighs the competing benefits rather than merely repeating them: self-reliance is valued, but team-based skills are judged more broadly transferable to modern study and work.
The final recommendation is consistent with the qualified thesis: preferring team sports does not require excluding individual disciplines, because the two forms develop complementary strengths.
Verified word count: 289
Analysis by IELTS Master editorial review. How this analysis is created and reviewed
Useful vocabulary and phrases
workplace-ready abilities
Links sport to real-life outcomes in an academic, specific way.
Team sports can develop workplace-ready abilities such as communication and cooperation.
shared decision-making
A natural collocation that strengthens the teamwork argument.
In team games, success depends on shared decision-making during play.
for the sake of a common plan
Directly connects sport behaviour to ‘life skills’ like cooperation.
Players accept different roles for the sake of a common plan.
conflict management
High-value academic term relevant to team contexts.
Team environments teach conflict management when tensions arise.
solitary training sessions
Creates vivid specificity for the individual-sport view.
Individual athletes often rely on solitary training sessions to improve.
a lapse in focus
Precise language for mental skills and performance.
In tennis, a lapse in focus can quickly change the outcome of a match.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Discussing only one view and adding a brief sentence about the other.
- Listing ‘life skills’ without explaining how the sport actually develops them.
- Using extreme claims (e.g., ‘team sports always…’) without qualification.
- Giving an opinion that is inconsistent between the introduction and conclusion.
- Adding new main arguments in the conclusion instead of summarising.
Now apply what you have learned
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