Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-02
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)
It is certainly true that stress is the key issue in everyone's life now a days. That is why i agree with this notion that in some cultures stress is now taken as a major drwaback and that the individuals are now feeling more stressed then in the past, while many believes that stress is now an over rated thing as our ancestors were under more pressure but they dont know back then that this is called stress.
On one hand, people of our generation are more sensitive then their elders. They feel and observe each little thing in their lives so emotionally because of which happiness of achieving a goal or depression of losing a task, both feelings give them a spike of dopamine. A research performed in University of South wales also dictates that todays generation are more reactive to the events happening around them then the previous ones.
On the other hand, the previous generations had a very tough life with respect to the lives we had now. As technology is the main turning point of both eras. The technology builds super trains, automobiles and latest machinary to work in the indusrty. Whereas, in the past people used to travel by bicycle or by horses . No cutting edge technology in the indusry lots of mannual work to do which gives the individuals stress and put them in physical pressure.
To conclude that, Stress is now a common thing to have for people to feel in their daily life but if the comparison done with older generations we are really exaggerating the whole stress thing.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both views on modern and past stress and providing an opinion, though some ideas remain under-developed. Your position is presented in the introduction, where you state agreement that people feel more stressed today, but it lacks sufficient extension and support in the body paragraphs. For example, your point about younger generations being more sensitive is introduced with a generalisation and a study reference, but it is not fully explored with detailed reasoning. Similarly, the second body paragraph contrasts past physical hardships with modern technology, yet the link back to how this affects stress perception is only partially explained. To move up, you need to extend your arguments more thoroughly with specific examples rather than relying on brief assertions.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays some overall organisation with distinct paragraphs, but it lacks a clear overall progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On one hand' and 'On the other hand' to structure the response, but referencing and transitions between sentences can be mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the conclusion begins with an awkward formulation ('To conclude that, Stress is now...'), which disrupts the flow and logical linkage of the summary. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal logical progression within paragraphs needs to be smoother. To improve, you should employ a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that every sentence clearly builds upon the previous one without abrupt shifts.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, but there are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form that occasionally cause strain for the reader. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'drwaback', 'over rated', 'machinary', 'indusrty', and 'mannual', but spelling mistakes like these detract from precision. Additionally, phrasing such as 'stress is the key issue in everyone's life now a days' and 'give them a spike of dopamine' contains awkward collocations or informal styling. To achieve a higher band, you must demonstrate a broader range of vocabulary used with greater accuracy, ensuring correct spelling and natural phrasing suitable for an academic context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing relies on a limited range of structures, and your attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are noticeable errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles throughout the text. For example, you write 'many believes that stress is now an over rated thing' (disagreement in number) and 'the previous generations had a very tough life with respect to the lives we had now' (tense inconsistency). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, as seen in 'i agree' and 'University of South wales'. Because these errors occur frequently and can cause difficulty for the reader, you need to work on controlling basic sentence mechanics and ensuring your complex clauses are grammatically sound.
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