Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-10

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In some societies, stress is now regarded as a major problem, and it is thought that people suffer from more stress than they did in the past. However, others feel that the amount of stress people have today is exaggerated. They say that previous generations were under more pressure, but the idea of suffering from stress did not exist.

Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

In some societies, stress is considered a major problem, and may people believe that individuals experience more stress today than in the past. However, others argue that previous generations faced greater pressure, although they did not use the term "stress" in the same way. This essay will discuss both views before giving my opinion.

On the one hand, there are several reasons why people many experience more stress nowadays. Firstly, Modern life is extremely fast-paced, and people often have to manage work, education, families responsibilities and financial commitments at the same time. Secondly, technology has made it difficult for people to completely disconnect from their jobs. For example, employees may receive work-related message and emails even after working hours. Furthermore, social media can increase pressure because people constantly compare their lifestyles, appearance and achievements with others. As a result, many individuals may feel that they are not successful enough.

On the other hand, previous generation also faced considerable difficulties and in some respects, their lives were even ore challenging. IN addition, poverty wars and unemployment nd limited access to healthcare created serious pressure for many families. For instance, farmers in earlier generation could lose their entire income because of droughts or poor harvests. However, people may not have recognized these difficulties as a specific psychological condition called stress.

In my opinion, both generations have experienced significant pressure, but the nature of stress has changed rather than simply increased. people in the past faced more physical and economic hardships, whereas modern individuals are more likely to experience psychological pressure caused by coemption, technology and busy lifestyle.

In conclusion, although previous generation faced serious challenges, modern society has created new sources of stress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both perspectives and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and logically developed, particularly in the body paragraphs where you contrast modern psychological stressors with historical physical hardships. However, the development could be more nuanced; for instance, the conclusion is somewhat brief and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To reach a higher band, ensure that your opinion is not just stated in the introduction and conclusion, but woven more deeply into the body paragraphs to show a more sophisticated engagement with the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph has a central theme, and you use a range of cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with referencing and flow; for example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. Additionally, some cohesive devices are used in a slightly mechanical way. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the logical flow is maintained throughout the response, making it easy to follow your arguments.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some precision, using terms like 'fast-paced', 'psychological condition', and 'economic hardships'. There are some spelling errors ('ore' instead of 'more', 'coemption' instead of 'competition') and minor grammatical slips in word choice ('people many experience' instead of 'many people experience'). While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on proofreading for small slips and try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations to enhance the natural flow of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You show good control over basic grammar, but there are several recurring errors, such as missing articles ('poverty wars' should be 'poverty, wars'), subject-verb agreement issues ('previous generation' should be 'previous generations'), and punctuation errors. While these errors are noticeable, they do not cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, aim for greater accuracy in pluralization and article usage, and try to vary your sentence structure further by using more complex subordinate clauses to demonstrate a wider grammatical range.

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