Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-08

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)

It is often argued whether people experience more stress today than in the past, or if modern stress is simply exaggerated because past generations did not use the term"stress". In my opinion, while earlier generations faced severe hardships, modrn life creates unique and high level of psychological stress.

On the one hand, some people believe that current stress level are overstated. They point out that previous generation endured extremly difficult conditions, such as severe economic crises, manual labor, and limited healthcare, without complaining about mental health. In the past, people simply accepted these strugles as a normal part of their life, because the concept of psychological stress was not widely recognised or discussed. Therefore, critics argue that modern society is not necssarily more stressful, but rather more aware of mental pressure.

On the other hand, many people believe that modern life introduces entirely new sources of pressure. Today, people face fast-paced work environments, constant job insecurity and rising living costs. Furthermore, technology and social media makes it difficult to disconnect from work and daily responsibilities, leading to continous mental exhaustion. Unlike physical labor, which is ends when workday is over, modern metal pressure often follows people home, causing long-term health issues like anxiety and sleep disorders.

In conclusion, although past generation experienced major physical hardship, I belive that modern life creates higher levels of chronic mental stress, however, there are so many technological advancement and provide aid easily. So that people develop their skills, rather than past. The combination of pressure hyper-connectivity, economic pressure and rapid social change makes stress a very real and serious issue today.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both views and state a clear opinion: earlier generations faced serious hardship, while modern life creates distinctive chronic psychological pressure. The examples of economic crises, manual labour and limited healthcare support the opposing view, while job insecurity, living costs and social media support your own. This meets the task well, and the position is clear. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that modern pressure causes anxiety and sleep disorders would be stronger with a brief explanation or example, and the final reference to technology providing aid is unclear and not integrated into your argument. Develop these points more evenly and make the conclusion directly synthesise the two views.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two perspectives, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the progression easy to follow. Within the main paragraphs, ideas generally move from a claim to supporting examples. Some cohesion is less controlled, particularly in the conclusion, where the point about technological advances and assistance interrupts the argument and the final sentence repeats the idea of modern stress without clearly linking back to that point. There is also a slightly mechanical reliance on explicit transitions. Use clearer links between related ideas and ensure each concluding sentence follows logically from the one before it.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “economic crises,” “job insecurity,” “living costs,” “mental exhaustion,” and “sleep disorders.” These choices help communicate the contrast between past hardship and present-day pressures, and you attempt some less common expressions such as “hyper-connectivity.” However, spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “modrn,” “extremly,” “strugles,” “necssarily,” “continous,” “metal pressure,” and “belive” appear in the response. Some phrases are also awkward or imprecise, such as “higher levels of chronic mental stress” and “provide aid easily.” Proofread carefully and choose collocations that express your intended meaning naturally; this will make your vocabulary more accurate and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while,” “because,” and “which,” and most of the argument remains understandable. Some grammatical errors occur, especially with agreement and sentence construction. For example, “current stress level are” should have a plural noun or singular verb, and “technology and social media makes” needs a plural verb. In “Unlike physical labor, which is ends,” the verb form is incorrect. The final sentence of the conclusion also contains an incomplete, unclear construction: “however, there are so many technological advancement and provide aid easily.” Work on subject–verb agreement, verb forms, and punctuation around contrasting clauses, and revise the conclusion into complete, clearly connected sentences.

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