Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-06
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)
It has been observed in some societies that stress is the biggest issue of current era, and people think that humans are suffering from more stress than in the past. While, the other group of individuals believe that people are bearing more amount of stress than they should. they think that older generations were more under tension, but the definition of suffering from stress and depression did not exist. I will discuss both of these views in this essay and give my opinion on people who suffer more from stress.
On the first hand, we live in a society where some people argue that individuals living in current era are suffering from more stress than the people from previous generation. It is because of more competition and newer technologies in the market. Furthermore, they have much more responsibilities and they have to manage all the things. Moreover, expectations of people are very high and they influenced more by other people lifestyles. For example, in social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok everyone is showing off their assets and luxury lifestyle which is the major reason behind stress in the common people.
Besides this, some residents think that older generations were suffering more from stress but they do not knew the meaning of stress. This statement is also true to some extent because sources of enjoyment were limited in the past. Secondly, there were not new technologies like mobile phones and social media through which they could stay in touch with their loved ones. For example, we can to anyone who is living far from us but there were not any sources like this.
In conclusion, I have discussed both of these views and gave my opinion with examples.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The essay addresses both views, but the development is uneven. While the first body paragraph provides some reasons for modern stress, the second paragraph is underdeveloped and fails to clearly explain why previous generations might have suffered more. Crucially, the prompt asks for your own opinion, but you did not provide a clear, personal stance in the body or conclusion; you merely stated that you would discuss the views. To reach a higher band, you must explicitly state your opinion and support it with logical reasoning rather than just summarizing the task requirements in the conclusion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay uses basic cohesive devices like 'On the first hand' (which is non-standard; 'On the one hand' is preferred), 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is present, but the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. The transition between the two views is abrupt, and the final paragraph is very brief, failing to synthesize the arguments or provide a concluding thought. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the final paragraph where the reference to 'both of these views' does not effectively tie the essay together.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing such as 'suffering from stress' and 'people'. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'biggest issue of current era' (should be 'the current era') and 'bearing more amount of stress'. While the meaning is clear, the lack of sophisticated or topic-specific vocabulary limits the score. Attempting to use more precise synonyms for 'stress' or 'pressure' would improve your lexical range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. You have several grammatical errors, such as 'they do not knew' (should be 'did not know'), 'we can to anyone' (missing verb), and 'they influenced more by' (missing auxiliary 'are'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence structure often feels repetitive. To improve, focus on eliminating basic subject-verb agreement errors and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed with correct verb forms and auxiliary verbs.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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