Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-08

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 has become the common topic of discussion in today's world . While some people believe that modern society is more stressful then ever before , other argue that previous generations faced greater hardships and pressure even though stress wasn't widely recognize at that time .

On the one hand , people are more stress than ever before because of the fast pace of modern technology . Technology has made communication and work quicker but it creates the constant pressure to remain available . Many employee , for example are expected to respond emails and messages even outside the working hours . In addition , the pressure of high living cost , competition on works and study , high world load are the things where most people stress out . Social media is also the main reason which is creating constant pressure on individual . People are comparing their life , achievements and appearance with others . Therefore , modern technology provides great comfort , it creates psychological problem that was less common in past lives .

On the other hand , previous generation undoubtedly experienced extremely difficult lifestyles. In past, people used to have physical work load for hours , limiting healthcare, education and technology . Farmers , factory worker and other labourers are facing poverty and physical stress .For example , people during the war , get death threats which is directly realted to their survival . At that time , people don't know about the word stress due to inappropraite education system . they don't know about , stress , depression and mental health problem faced by todays people that does mean were went through it .

In my opinion , both generation have faced serious form of stress , but the nature of stress is changed . At previous life people are stressing about their crops , animals and their food for a day while nowadays people are stressing about the comparing with each other . Both generation have faced the stress in different way so , there is no point to argue in it .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both views and providing a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant, such as the impact of technology and the physical hardships of the past. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the discussion on previous generations could be more nuanced, and the conclusion is a bit brief. While the position is clear throughout, the arguments could benefit from more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The response is well-structured in terms of task coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand', 'In addition', and 'Therefore', which help guide the reader. However, there are some issues with the mechanical use of these devices and occasional awkward phrasing, such as 'that does mean were went through it'. Paragraphing is appropriate, but the transition between ideas could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, though some sentences feel slightly disjointed due to grammatical errors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'psychological problem', 'hardships', and 'labourers'. However, there are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'high world load' (likely meaning 'workload'), 'past lives' (used incorrectly), and 'inappropraite education system'. Some spelling errors, such as 'realted' and 'inappropraite', are present. The range is sufficient for communication but lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('people are more stress', 'many employee'), incorrect verb tenses ('people don't know' instead of 'didn't know'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with spaces before commas and periods. These errors are noticeable and occasionally distract the reader, though they do not prevent the overall message from being understood.

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