Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-27
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)
In recent times , stress become a huge cause among masses, which shows the people suffering from more anxiety than previous time . Whereas other thought that the early generation was also under burden .Nevertheless,
the stress level was lower than today. Both views are discussed in the upcoming paragraphs .
To start with, nowadays people have busy schedule due to lack of balanced lifestyle, even they do not have a time to spend with their family . The rise of competitive trend in society give birth to the social stress among new generation, which results they are trying to do multiple tasks at one time ,also they comparing themselves with others . Moreover, the migration trend among public also play a crucial role , so they spend most of time on social media rather than real life meetings with known ones . For instance , the japan is only country where every year thousand of people lost their life because they suffering from loneliness and anxiety .
However, in the previous time majority of individuals were under pressure not stress since their competition was in academics and sport . Majority of people chasing
government jobs and skill based professions ,for example in an army , bank and railway .
Whereas people now making more money in private departments and businesses, which also brings the lot of stress on daily basis and impacts the personal life .
However , there is one more thing before technology and machines people mostly depends upon physical involvement based work, that never considered as cause of stress .
In conclusion, human was always facing different type of stress and problems in recent and previous times which means people should always try get out from those things which making life worst.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both views and provides an opinion, though the development is somewhat uneven. The first body paragraph discusses modern stress well, but the second paragraph is less clear in its comparison between past and present pressures. The argument regarding 'physical involvement' in the past is a relevant point, but it lacks sufficient elaboration to fully support the claim. The conclusion is a bit vague and does not clearly restate your position on which view you find more convincing. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and that your personal opinion is explicitly stated and supported throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'Nevertheless' is used incorrectly to contrast the previous sentence, and 'For instance' is used to introduce a point that is not fully linked to the preceding argument. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'the japan is only country', where the connection to the previous point about social media is weak. Improving the flow between sentences using a wider variety of linking words would help the progression of ideas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward word choices or incorrect collocations, such as 'huge cause among masses' instead of 'a significant issue for many people' and 'competitive trend' instead of 'increasingly competitive nature'. Additionally, there are minor errors in word formation, such as 'the japan' and 'thousand of people'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('stress become', 'people now making'), missing articles ('in an army'), and awkward phrasing ('which results they are trying to do'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas and periods. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of these errors limits the score. Focusing on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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