Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-30

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 today's advanced technological era, stress can be seen as a major problem, and people are more stressed nowadays than they were in the past. However, others argue that people exaggerate about stress, and they believe that our ancestors were under more pressure and the whole concept of suffering from stress does not exist. I strongly believe in the former view. This essay will discuss these views in the forthcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, due to the fast-paced lifestyle and high living standards of the new generation, people tend to spend a lot of money to live up to and maintain those standards. For instance, people work overtime and get exhausted by the end of the day, which leads to them in a stressful situation as they start living in a loop of working overtime to earn a good amount of money. Because of that they start missing special occasions and moments with their loved ones, which leads to less family time and connection with society; as a result of that loneliness factor comes in the picture which has been a proven factor of stress.

On the other side, in past, there was no online world due to which people had no means to get addicted to the luxuries of the new world. There was less competition, more hard work, so the concept of stress was unseeable. A rich family culture helped people to not think about stress, as there was someone to talk to at every point in time. For example, joint family structure helped people to achieve a lot of hard tasks of daily life which can be unachievable by a single person. In some extent, the situation of being in distress is stretched by people today as they do not wish to look for ways to come out of this situation.

In conclusion, people are stressed in the new world just to show the world they are not less than others as most of the time people are stressed without a genuine reason; sometimes it could be related to a small issue on social media.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The argument regarding modern stress is supported by the concept of 'fast-paced lifestyles' and 'loneliness', which is relevant. The counter-argument regarding the past is also addressed, but the claim that the concept of stress 'did not exist' is a strong assertion that could have been nuanced further. While the prompt is addressed, some points, such as the mention of social media in the conclusion, appear as new information rather than a synthesis of the preceding arguments. Overall, the position is clear, but the depth of analysis could be improved to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'as a result of that' and 'because of that'. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task. You use some relevant terms like 'fast-paced lifestyle', 'living standards', and 'joint family structure'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'the concept of stress was unseeable' (should be 'unrecognizable' or 'non-existent') and 'in some extent' (should be 'to some extent'). The range is sufficient to convey your meaning, but there is a lack of more sophisticated or precise academic vocabulary that would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are recurring grammatical errors. For example, 'which leads to them in a stressful situation' (should be 'leads them into'), 'in past' (should be 'in the past'), and 'which can be unachievable' (should be 'which would be unachievable'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some awkward phrasings that slightly impede the flow. A wider variety of error-free complex structures would be required for a higher score.

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