Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-13

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)

Stress has become an abused term as anyone who goes through the littlest dicomfort terms it to be stress. However, this hasn't always been the case.

With increasing globalization and digitalization, one would think stress will become a thing of the past because of how humans have little work to do while almost all tasks have become automated.

In times past, people had to do crude jobs with little or no assistance from technology but we rarely heard them complain about stress. Instead, they found pride in dignity of labour.

For example, a farmer in the 1900s will do all the land preparation and plant up to the harvest stage with little to no implements and still not complain of stress. On the flip side, a new age farmer has machines doing all the job but still complains of stress. This is rather exaggerated.

The same goes for students who are literally taken to schools in vehicles, have smart classrooms and other digitized means of easy and accessible learning who still complain about stress like someone who attended school in the olden days when they put in a lot of rigour to accesss materials for learning.

In conclusion, while we don't rule out stress, there shouldn't be an exaggeration because technology has brought so much help

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You give a clear opinion that current stress is exaggerated, and your examples of farmers and students are relevant to the discussion. However, the response mainly develops the view that people today have less pressure because of technology; the opposing view—that modern life may create new or greater stresses—is not explained. The brief opening acknowledges that stress was not always discussed, but does not develop why people today may genuinely experience more stress. Your examples also rely on broad comparisons rather than evidence or explanation. The response is 216 words, below the required 250, which further limits how fully you can address both views. Develop each perspective and support your position with a more balanced explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, examples in separate paragraphs, and a conclusion. The progression from farmers to students is easy to follow, and phrases such as “For example” and “On the flip side” signal relationships between ideas. However, the overall argument is not fully balanced or developed, so the paragraphs largely reinforce one position rather than building a discussion of both views. Some links are also abrupt: the move from the farmer example to students would benefit from a sentence explaining the shared point. The conclusion repeats the opinion without drawing together the two perspectives. Use clearer topic sentences and transitions to show how each paragraph contributes to the discussion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “globalization,” “digitalization,” “automated,” “dignity of labour,” and “rigour.” These choices help communicate your ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. Some expressions are imprecise or awkward, however: “the littlest dicomfort” is not a natural way to describe minor difficulties, while “a new age farmer” and “machines doing all the job” are informal or poorly collocated. There are also spelling errors, including “dicomfort” and “accesss.” Aim for more precise, natural phrasing and check spelling carefully. A wider range of accurate expressions for different kinds of pressure would also help you discuss both sides more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including the conditional structure “With increasing globalization and digitalization, one would think…” and the relative clause “who still complain about stress.” Most sentences communicate their meaning clearly, and errors rarely prevent understanding. Some grammatical choices need attention: “a farmer in the 1900s will do” shifts awkwardly into the future, and “found pride in dignity of labour” is missing a determiner before “dignity.” In “a new age farmer has machines doing all the job,” the singular noun phrase and “all the job” do not fit together grammatically. Review tense consistency, articles, and singular/plural forms, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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