Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-27

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, stress has become a big concern among most of the people in some societies 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.

In my opinion, the root cause of stress in past and in today's life has changed in multiple ways but it is still a genuine problem for today's people in a same way it used be in the past. Before people used get stressed about securing a seat in their choice of university or getting a well paid job after graduation because in those years opportunity was less due less number of top universities and companies. That was mainly because country was in a developing state. Coparatively now, number of universities and job opportunities has increased significantly but at the same time level of competition has also changed.

In today's time, people are not just stressed about career but also for multiple things they are dealing in life such as inflation which impacted their living at the highest. Due to inflation, many people are unable to afford even some basic needs such as housing, transportation, groceries or healthcare. Also due to the rise in the cost of almost everything, many people are financially burdened with multiple EMIs.

Additionally, nowadays it became more difficult to run a family comparatively to past due to rise in daily life expenses. For example, a family consisting a husband, wife and one child have to pay for their daily living expenses like housing, groceries, healthcare and so on along with their child's education expenses. Also they need to plan investments for future security, this all become a little difficult with today's infaltion.

Therefore, I believe that stress of today's society is genuine and not exaggerrated.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views—that stress is a major modern problem and that previous generations suffered more pressure without the label of stress—while clearly stating the author's own opinion. The ideas are generally relevant, but the development lacks sufficient depth and evidence. For instance, the argument regarding past generations is somewhat brief and generalized. Furthermore, the body paragraphs focus heavily on inflation and financial burdens in modern society rather than exploring the broader psychological or societal dimensions of stress. While a clear position is maintained throughout, the supporting arguments would benefit from greater elaboration and more specific, real-world examples rather than broad generalizations about living costs and EMIs. Therefore, the response aligns best with Band 6 descriptors for task achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilized, though the division of ideas could be more refined; the third and fourth paragraphs both deal with modern financial pressures and inflation, and could logically be combined or better distinguished. Cohesive devices are used, but some are faulty, mechanical, or repetitive, such as the frequent transitions like 'Also', 'In today's time', and 'Therefore'. Referencing and substitution are occasionally clumsy, as seen in phrases like 'this all become a little difficult'. Progression is present, but the logical links between sentences can feel disjointed due to awkward phrasing and limited transitional variety. This overall level of structural organization and cohesive control corresponds to a Band 6 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'exaggerated', 'inflation', 'burdened', and 'opportunities'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing throughout the text. Examples include 'in a same way it used be', 'opportunity was less due less number of', 'impacted their living at the highest', and 'comparatively to past'. Spelling errors also appear, such as 'Coparatively' and 'infaltion'. While these lexical shortcomings and errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they prevent the vocabulary score from reaching higher bands. The lexical profile reflects the Band 6 descriptor where an adequate range is used with some inaccuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and conditional structures. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and frequent errors persist. Notable mistakes include missing articles ('because country was in a developing state', 'due less number of'), incorrect preposition usage ('stressed about career but also for multiple things', 'dealing in life'), tense errors ('Before people used get stressed'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('this all become'). Although these errors rarely impede the reader's understanding of the main arguments, their frequency prevents the majority of sentences from being error-free. This combination of mixed structures and persistent grammatical inaccuracies warrants a Band 6.

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