Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07
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 few societies, sress is recognized as a huge issue, and it is also said that currently people experience with more stress than they would feel in the past times. On the other hand some people also think that stress has been extended more in nowadays life. They also state that the generations before us were under more pressure but the reason they were not experiencing it because they were unaware of what the stress actually is.
In my opinion the current situation that people are feeling more stress as compared to the current generation but it is due to the current use of social media use which has made the people more observing and they know a lot than they need to know, which cause them to think more deeply and thus cause them to face severe stress. For Example, a person using instagram and sharing the current situation and damages that is occuring due to a flood on a specific area cause many people to get frightened and thus they are stressed and worried.
On the other some people has the idea that inhabitants of the generation before us has no idea about stress and that was the reason that they were not experiencing it would be more vague and unclear. Because in that times people didn't have the time to know about a lot of unuseful things and they also had not enough free time to sit and think about their problems rather they would try to solve those problems and move ahead. I think they were more practical and matured. For example, the people that lived in past had limited resources of their needs and would not have to overthink about getting more than they need. Thus they were less familiar with stress.
In conclusion, I would say that people currently are more in stress because they are more facing global issues happening on social media and thinking extra on the things that they do not have to worry about. While in previous generations people had to deal with their self issues and not about those that were not theirs to worry about. Forexample, the more use of social media has made people become more overthinkers and their influence has got worsen with time.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You address both perspectives and give a clear overall view: you argue that people today experience more stress, linking this to social media and exposure to global problems. The examples about flood reports and earlier generations’ more practical focus are relevant to the question. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The first view—that stress may be exaggerated and earlier generations faced greater pressure—is introduced, but its strongest case is not fully explained; instead, you mainly argue that people in the past were less aware of stress. Your position also becomes difficult to follow in the opening, where the comparison is phrased unclearly. Explain what pressures earlier generations faced and weigh these against modern pressures to make the discussion more balanced and convincing.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate discussion of the views, and a conclusion. The main ideas generally follow a sensible order, and examples are placed near the points they support. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and linking phrases can be repetitive or inaccurate. For instance, “On the other” is used to introduce the opposing view, while the conclusion repeats the social-media argument without clearly summarising the comparison. Some references are also hard to track, such as “they” in the discussion of earlier generations. Use clearer topic sentences, connect each example explicitly to its claim, and vary transitions so the reader can follow the contrast more easily.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “pressure,” “global issues,” “resources,” and “overthink,” and your meaning is usually recoverable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are noticeably inaccurate, sometimes making ideas difficult to interpret. Examples include “stress has been extended,” “experience with more stress,” and “more observing”; these do not express the intended meanings naturally. There are also spelling errors such as “sress,” “occurring,” and “Forexample.” Aim to learn topic-related phrases in context and check spelling carefully. More precise choices such as “stress levels have increased” and “become more aware” would make your argument clearer and more appropriate for an academic essay.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “because,” “which,” and “rather,” so there is some variety. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the argument difficult to follow. For example, “the current situation that people are feeling more stress” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “some people has the idea” has subject–verb disagreement. In “the reason they were not experiencing it because,” the clause is incomplete, and several sentences run together without effective punctuation. Practise building accurate sentences around one main clause, then add subordinate clauses carefully. Check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries during revision.
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