Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-05

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)

People have differing views about the amount of stress in the past vs nowadays. Some believe that the amount of people suffering from stress now is way more than they did in the past. Others feel that stress people have today is exaggerated. They believe that previous generations were under more pressure, but the idea of stress didnt exist back then. In my opinion, nowadays people are safer physically but not mentally.

In today's world, the meaning of goals and achievements have changed. People prefer to have a luxurious life, influenced by the life of social media, rather than a basic, happy and healthy life. This leads them to stress. For example, if a student's father buys a car and he posts it on social media as his own, just to gain attention and followers. His classmates watching that story will compare with him and think they cannot afford it. This will cause stress. Therefore, this race for unneccassary targets have created a huge gap between the elite and lower class.

On the other side, it is true that the people in the past doesn't have the idea of stress. They used to work day and night with constant pressure. But they were strong both physically and mentally, mainly because of their diet and lifestyle.

I believe that the today's people are safer physically but not mentally. The constant urge for recognition, and lack of self confident also results in the level of stress the people in the modern world have.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both views and provides a clear personal opinion. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. The example regarding social media and a student's father is a bit narrow and does not fully capture the broader societal implications of modern stress. The discussion on previous generations is also quite brief and lacks depth in explaining why they were under more pressure. To improve, you should expand on your arguments with more detailed analysis and ensure that the connection between your examples and the prompt is more robust. The position is clear, but the supporting evidence needs more sophistication to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'In today's world', 'For example', and 'On the other side' to transition between ideas. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the paragraph about the student's father. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence builds naturally upon the previous one.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'luxurious life', 'achievements', and 'constant pressure'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'lack of self confident' (should be 'self-confidence') and 'unneccassary targets have created' (subject-verb agreement error). You attempt to use some less common vocabulary, but the overall range is somewhat limited. To improve, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure that your word forms are accurate in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the meaning of goals and achievements have changed' (subject-verb agreement), 'people in the past doesn't have' (should be 'did not have'), and 'the today's people' (incorrect article usage). These errors are noticeable but do not generally impede communication. To reach a higher band, you need to increase the frequency of error-free sentences and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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