Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-21

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 areas, stress is considered as a major threat now, and people believe that they suffer from more stress than they did in the past. However some are those who think that pressure was quietly common before than nowadays but people did not know about this idea. I potentially believe that stress is one of the major problems a society has at this time than before.

On one hand, people firmly believe that stress is a greater obstacle nowadays. The primary reason to this thought is that life is very complex in the modern world. Every person today wants to stay up to date and worries about human judgement. To follow these trends, people need to meet with their expenses which is difficult. For instance, inflation is common in societies, which makes it difficult to manage all the basic necessities. Such things causes stress in people. Another big reason to this point is densely increasing population in cities. Noise pollution creates a strong level of stress among people, Another factor is that with increasing population, opportunities related to the future gets lower which results in tough competition in every field and powers stress.

Conversely, some are those people who say that previous generations were under more pressure but this particular idea did not exist. This could be true as people before were not literate as compared to today. However, life in previous decades was simpler and easier so it is not a strong point and is difficult to prove.

In conclusion, from my own experience, I firmly stand with people who consider that stress is a greater problem nowadays than before.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views—that modern stress is a major issue and that previous generations suffered more without naming it—and provides a clear personal opinion. The ideas are relevant and supported with examples, such as inflation, basic necessities, and densely increasing population in cities. However, some arguments tend to be slightly repetitive and could be extended further with deeper explanation. For instance, the counter-argument regarding previous generations is introduced but dismissed rather quickly without deep exploration. Nevertheless, the main task requirements are met adequately, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor for covering all parts with relevant ideas, though some development remains somewhat limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs addressing both sides, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different arguments. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Phrases like 'The primary reason to this thought' and 'Another big reason to this point' are awkward and indicate limitations in logical transitions. Referencing and linking devices are occasionally unnatural, such as 'However some are those who think', which detracts from the fluency of progression. While the logical structure is generally clear, the cohesive devices require greater flexibility and precision to achieve a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'inflation', 'necessities', 'densely increasing population', and 'competition'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the response, such as 'quietly common' instead of 'quite common', 'powers stress' instead of 'causes stress', and 'reason to this thought' instead of 'reason for this thought'. These lexical inaccuracies slightly impede precision, and spelling is generally fine but word choice limitations prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band. Overall, the resource is minimally adequate and fits the Band 6 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like relative clauses and conditional-like statements ('To follow these trends, people need to meet with their expenses which is difficult'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices, such as 'Such things causes stress' (subject-verb agreement error), 'opportunities related to the future gets lower' (plural/singular mismatch), and preposition errors like 'meet with their expenses'. While these errors persist, they rarely impede communication, and the meaning of the sentences remains clear. This balance of mixed structures and frequent minor errors reflects the Band 6 descriptor.

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