Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-12

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 some communities, stress is currently considered a vital issue whereas others perceive that the concept of stress didn't exist in older times and they didn't exaggerate it as much as modern society folks do. Both of these are subjective opinions of people in different times. However, I believe stress is a significant issue irrespective of any circumstances and eras. Moreover, some people do extend the concept of stress to a far more serious issue than the actual reality without seeking medical help. Therefore, I agree with both views to some extent.

The concept of stress is subjective but it exists more or less in every people's mind. Main difference is the magnitude of it. In older times, people lacked the knowledge of mental health and they thought it didn't exist. For this reason, people weren't including stress as an agenda during their everyday communication. We can't surely state that if the previous generations had more pressure or not but the lack of communication in this certain topic made this a frawned upon kind of topic where people hesitated to talk about it. So, we can conclude that people of that era had almost no idea about mental health, depression and stress;That's why it may seem exagerrated to them when people talk about these issues.

In our modern society, a positive side is that people now talk more about their mental health than before. The amount of mental health and well being centers are being built more rapidly. Though, depression and stress do exist in individuals but people might exaggerate small issues as depression or stress nowadays due to widespread communcation about these issues. This is one of the main downside of this sensitive issue where sometimes older folk might think that the newer generations are exaggerating things. Well, sometimes exaggeration might prevail in the society but it's mostly awareness in today's world rather than exaggeration.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that stress is a major modern problem and that previous generations suffered more without the label—and provides a clear personal opinion that stress exists across all eras while acknowledging some exaggeration today. The position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas in the body paragraphs is somewhat repetitive and lacks deeper examples or relevant evidence, tending to rely on general statements rather than specific illustrations. For instance, the discussion on older generations lacking mental health knowledge is a good point but is not fully explored or supported with historical context. Consequently, the response fits the criteria for Band 6.0, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some parts are slightly under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is arranged into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a clear overarching progression from discussing the two views to presenting a synthesis and final stance. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'Moreover', and 'For this reason', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical or abrupt, such as the semi-colon usage ('stress;That's why') in the second paragraph. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the introduction, the historical view, and the modern perspective. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional clunky phrasing affects the smoothness of reading. Overall, the organisation demonstrates clear logical progression, supporting a Band 6.5 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common items such as 'irrespective', 'magnitude', and 'exaggerated'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'modern society folks', 'every people's mind', and 'frawned upon' (spelling error for frowned upon). Additionally, phrases like 'widespread communcation' and 'main downside' show minor slips. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching Band 7.0. The range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, making a Band 6.0 appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including conditional-style structures and relative clauses ('Though, depression and stress do exist...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, such as missing articles ('the main downside'), incorrect preposition use ('in this certain topic'), punctuation errors with semi-colons and capitalisation ('stress;That's why'), and awkward phrasing like 'people weren't including stress as an agenda'. Although these errors rarely impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the essay from achieving a higher band. The control of grammar is consistent with a Band 6.0.

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