Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-10

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 6.0)

It is indeed true that in modern times stress is a crucial issue for people at various stages of life today. While on contrary others believe that previous generations were more prone and affected by stress but the idea of suffering from stress did not prevail.

In today's era of cut-throat competition and rapid industrialization it has led to a significant decline in job markets and new graduates are the prime victims of the same as it seems to be way difficult to land a job in a company just after months of graduation unless they have hustled their way out before. For example, a firm would always prioritize an individual with some potential amount of work experience rather than someone who has nothing but a degree on the resume. This leads to surge in stress levels amongst youngsters and degrades their mental health.

However, in the past when it was relatively easy to be employable people used to suffer with other set of their own problems. For instance, concentration of people living in rural areas was far more than those living in cities and urban areas. This led to talented people working in farmlands or other rural settings and those who could afford to move to towns used to face extreme stress due to fast lifestyle, earnings and payment of rent. But people from that generation were a firm believer that perseverance is the only key to success rather than focusing on mental ailments like depression or stress from work.

According to me youth today is more prone to stress and mental illness due to various advancements in AI and other aspects which acts as a roadblock in kickstarting their careers irrespective of their skill sets. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for an average person to thrive in their field of interest because if a person genuinely wants to pursue music but if there is no scope ahead for him then he may feel misaligned and trapped from his daily work duties in an organization.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear opinion that young people today face greater stress. The discussion of current pressures is relevant, particularly the competition for jobs and the experience requirement for graduates. You also recognise that earlier generations faced pressures but may not have described them as stress. However, the comparison is uneven: the paragraph about the past focuses mainly on rural and urban employment and does not clearly explain why people then experienced more pressure, while the final opinion introduces AI and career dissatisfaction without fully developing how these support your position. To strengthen the response, explain each view more directly and support the comparison with specific, clearly connected examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on present-day stress, a contrasting paragraph about the past, and a concluding opinion. Linking expressions such as “However,” “For example,” and “According to me” help signal the direction of the discussion. Some connections are less clear or mechanical, though. The opening “While on contrary” does not form a complete contrast smoothly, and the shift from rural population patterns to stress in towns is difficult to follow. The final paragraph also adds new points rather than drawing together the comparison. Use clearer topic sentences and make the relationship between each example and its main claim explicit; a brief concluding sentence would help the argument feel more complete.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “cut-throat competition,” “work experience,” “mental health,” and “perseverance.” These choices allow you to discuss employment and psychological pressure with some specificity. There are also attempts at less common or emphatic expressions, but some are inaccurate or unnatural in context, such as “concentration of people living in rural areas,” “a firm believer,” and “misaligned and trapped from his daily work duties.” “Degrades their mental health” is also an awkward collocation. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the main ideas, but they reduce precision. Prefer familiar, accurate collocations where needed, and check whether each phrase expresses the intended relationship.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including clauses introduced by “While,” “unless,” and “because,” and most of the argument remains understandable. Some grammatical errors occur in these longer sentences. For example, “While on contrary others believe” is an incomplete and awkwardly joined construction; “it has led” in the second paragraph has an unclear subject; and “if a person genuinely wants to pursue music but if there is no scope ahead for him” repeats the conditional structure and leaves the sentence difficult to control. There are also issues with articles and agreement, as in “a firm believer” referring to people generally and “advancements … which acts.” Break up overloaded sentences, check that each clause has a clear subject and verb, and review singular/plural agreement.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.