Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-15

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 recent times, it has been observed that the stress level has become a hurdle in today's societies due to its increase than in the past. However, some people argue that nowadays stress level is overated as the old generations faced more pressure. I strongly agree that people suffer more stress than they did in the past and the idea of suffering from it exist. Both facts will be taken into consideration before a reasonable conclusion is drawn.

On the other hand,even though individuals of the ancient generations had suffered from anxiety, it cannot be as it is in the current generation. However,The population of the past also experienced overwhelm especially work related. For example, during the industrial revolution people worked under pressure where they worked hard and the payment was also low. As a result, people of the past were likely to encounter job related issues than any other problems especially social, environment,legal and so on. Therefore, Although the old civilisation had faced pressure, the community of today face more than that one.

Nevertheless, the current contemporary populace struggle with the tension especially, social, online, environmental, employment, and many more. to demonstrate due to the presence of social media people try to balance their lives with online trends, individual preferences, society's desires, workload, and so on which increases anxiety, depression and strock. Consequently, due to change in fashion, desires as well as technology, people are facing more strains that in he past. Hence, today's communities are facing more overwhelming challenges than in the past.

In conclusion, despite the fact that the last generations had faced challenges, I strongly agree that current one is facing more pressure. Morevore, people should reduce stress level by taking enough rest, reduce screen time and work accordingly.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that modern stress is higher and that it is exaggerated compared to past generations—and clearly states a personal position. The ideas are generally relevant, but some supporting points are under-developed or repetitive. For instance, the discussion of the Industrial Revolution in the second body paragraph remains somewhat vague, referring generally to hard work and low pay without deeply exploring the psychological impact compared to today. Furthermore, minor awkward phrasing such as 'and the idea of suffering from it exist' slightly obscures parts of the argument. However, a clear overall position is maintained throughout the essay. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as discussing past generations versus contemporary pressures. However, cohesion is at times faulty and mechanical. The student relies on repetitive transitional phrases and slightly unnatural cohesive devices, such as 'Nevertheless, the current contemporary populace struggle' and 'to demonstrate due to the presence of social media'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'face more than that one'. While the logical progression can be followed, the awkward transitions prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. This represents Band 6 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'overrated', 'industrial revolution', and 'contemporary populace'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('overated' instead of overrated, 'strock' instead of stroke) and occasional word-choice inaccuracies ('ancient generations' instead of past generations; 'old civilisation'). Despite these lapses, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main arguments, and errors do not seriously impede communication. The writer also includes some repetition of basic words like 'pressure', 'stress', and 'challenges'. This fits the Band 6 descriptor profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures through subordinate clauses and conditional constructions. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement errors ('the stress level have become', 'the idea of suffering from it exist'), missing punctuation before transitional phrases, and awkward phrasing such as 'people are facing more strains that in he past'. While these errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, they rarely completely impede communication. Because complex structures are attempted but frequently flawed alongside simpler sentence errors, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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