Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-22

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 5.5)

Stress and pressure both are necessary and inevitable factors, that are crucial to keep people striving hard for their goals and objectives that ultimately keeps the system work in society. However, things gets ugly and asphyxiating when one or the other factor is so much that people don't find the room in their minds to cope with.

First let's talk about pressure and its association with the people of older times. When societies were progressing in technology and science there were more pressure to create and invent new things and that was also with a handful of people masses were still used to get pressurize over the deadlines and work of that time in their concerned fields. But as the society have moved forward in technological aspects, science and technology particularly genesis of social media and artificial intelligence have came so far that people in society are constantly using various online platforms where comparison competition and unnecessary information influx doom scrolling is mounting day by day making people more vulnerable to scams blackmailing etc. The constant usage of social media platforms in several studies have suggested keep people in flight and fight mode that leads to high cortisol levels in blood causing acute and chronic stress making the subject to other co-morbid disorders.

In conclusion constant stress and pressure are both life-threatening conditions that can cause several disorders. However there is professional help is available to deal with these two conditions via medication or therapy that can make these conditions better.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt but fails to provide a clear, consistent opinion as requested. While you discuss the two views, your own perspective is not explicitly stated or developed. The argument regarding previous generations is somewhat vague, and the transition to the impact of social media is abrupt. To improve, ensure you clearly state your position in the introduction and dedicate a paragraph to supporting your own view with specific examples. The current structure lacks a balanced discussion of both sides, as the focus shifts heavily toward the negative impacts of technology rather than comparing the two perspectives as required by the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks a clear logical progression. The paragraphing is insufficient, with the main body consisting of a single, dense paragraph that attempts to cover too many disparate points. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or are missing, making the flow between ideas feel disjointed. For instance, the transition from discussing 'older times' to 'social media' is abrupt and lacks a clear linking phrase. To reach a higher band, you should use clear topic sentences for each paragraph and employ a wider range of cohesive devices (e.g., 'furthermore', 'conversely', 'consequently') to guide the reader through your argument more effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary, including terms like 'asphyxiating', 'genesis', and 'cortisol levels'. However, there are several instances of awkward collocation and word choice, such as 'masses were still used to get pressurize' and 'making the subject to other co-morbid disorders'. These errors occasionally impede the clarity of your message. To improve, focus on using collocations accurately and avoid over-complicating sentences with vocabulary that does not quite fit the context. Expanding your range to include more precise academic phrasing will help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex structures, but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes affect readability. Examples include 'things gets ugly' (subject-verb agreement), 'have came so far' (incorrect past participle), and 'there is professional help is available' (double verb). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly the lack of commas to separate clauses, which makes some sentences difficult to parse. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and verb tense consistency. Proofreading for common errors like missing articles and incorrect verb forms will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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