Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-28

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 6.5)

Some people think that growing exposure and awareness has led to people in the society believe that stress is a major problem and the current generation suffers more stress than previous one. While others argue that the previous generations were under more pressure, but as this topic was not that widely discussed it wasn't paid attention to. I partly agree with this view because though both the generation suffer from stress, in recent time there has been an increase in amount of people facing it.

The previous generation definitely had fewer resources at hand to perform the same duties we need to do today. In older times the young adults were burdened with responsibility of taking care of household expenses at very young age. As they were married off earlier they had to provide for more people. This led to them having to worry and stress about the financial burdens as well. However, not enough people were aware of the idea of stress which led to them not paying attention to it. They were content with their lifestyle and also did not face the extra pressure to maintain a certain kind of social status.

However, as the time has progressed concepts like stress and depression have become hot topics for discussion. The impact it has on an individual is also studied and therefore it is regarded as a major issue. In present time, the competition and societal pressure has increased drastically compared to the past. For example, earlier the concept of entrance exams was not that widespread but now the number of competitive entrance exams and the applicants have become tenfold. This has led to increase in stress in the students.

Thus, in my opinion, both the generations faced nearly equal amount of stress. The reason why stress has now been considered a huge problem is the exposure as well as increase in incidents of people taking severe steps when affected by it. But this isn't a reason to undermine the pressure on either generation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on stress—that modern life is uniquely stressful and that previous generations faced equal or greater pressure without modern terminology—and provides a clear personal opinion. The position is maintained throughout the essay. Ideas are extended and supported, such as when comparing the financial burdens of older generations to the academic pressure faced by students today, specifically mentioning competitive entrance exams as an example. Although some points could be slightly more deeply developed to reach the highest bands, the response thoroughly covers the prompt requirements and earns a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs representing the two views and the student's perspective, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'While others argue', 'However', and 'Thus' are used effectively to guide the reader through the arguments, though occasional minor cohesion choices feel slightly standard or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, and paragraphing is managed appropriately. This performance corresponds well to a Band 7.0 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision, employing terms such as 'burdened with responsibility', 'financial burdens', and 'societal pressure'. There are attempts to use less common items, although some awkward word choices appear, such as 'growing exposure and awareness has led to people in the society believe', where grammatical integration is flawed, or 'take severe steps'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. This sits comfortably within the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range, leaning towards a Band 6.0 due to recurring collocation and phrasing slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses, such as 'The previous generation definitely had fewer resources at hand to perform the same duties we need to do today.' However, there are notable grammatical errors throughout, including missing articles ('led to people in the society believe', 'increase in amount of people'), awkward verb forms, and preposition slips ('in recent time'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from reaching a Band 7.0. A Band 6.0 accurately reflects the balance of mixed structures and persistent errors.

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