Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-15

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 been a part of our daily lives and is triggered in many different ways. For some people, stress is a major problem that affects their daily living. There are a lot of reasons to support that. Some people are suffering more in today's age than in the past. One example, is the ongoing socioeconomic demand. The problem is that, some people cannot keep up with their everyday needs. Simply because of their finances and social status. That pushes them to work harder under pressure. Their work-life balance is compromised and the feeling of burnt out due to stress is the negative outcome.

On the other hand, some people feel that, the amout of stress in today's generation is exaggerated. Stress nowadays can be more manageable than in the past. There are a lot of ways to minimize that negative energy and turn it to something productive. One way of reducing stress is by meditation. This is one way of calming and bringing the anxiety down to lessen the stress level. One person's negative behavior will also contribute to feeling overwhelmed.

In conclusion, stress has been around over the years and sometimes, we don't realize that it's been a part of us, until we feel physically and emotionally involved. We need to be aware that, there are certain stressors that we can overcome by not dwelling on it. There are ways to easily manage and prevent it. Awareness is the key. We should know when to seek help and act upon it, before it gets out of hand.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response recognises both views: it argues that financial and social demands can increase pressure today, then presents the counter-view that modern stress may be more manageable. However, the discussion only partially fulfils the task because the second view is treated mainly as a claim about coping strategies, rather than explaining why earlier generations may have faced greater pressure or why stress was less recognised. The position is also not fully clear: the conclusion focuses on awareness and management without stating which view you find more convincing. Develop each side with a specific comparison or example, and state your own judgement directly in the introduction or conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall arrangement, with an opening, two contrasting body paragraphs signalled by “On the other hand,” and a concluding paragraph. This makes the main direction easy to follow. Some links between ideas are less smooth, however: “One example, is the ongoing socioeconomic demand” is followed by several short, disconnected statements, and “One person’s negative behavior” appears without a clear connection to the preceding point about meditation. The conclusion also shifts from comparing the views to general advice. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example explicitly to the argument it supports; avoid relying mainly on broad transitions to create cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “socioeconomic demand,” “work-life balance,” “burnt out,” “meditation,” and “overwhelmed.” These choices help communicate the subject and show some attempt to use less common expressions. At times, wording is imprecise or collocationally awkward, such as “ongoing socioeconomic demand,” “negative energy,” and “physically and emotionally involved.” There is also a spelling error in “amout.” Aim for more precise academic phrasing and check spelling: for example, describe financial pressures as “rising living costs” or “economic demands,” and use “emotionally affected” rather than “emotionally involved.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “There are a lot of reasons to support that” and “We should know when to seek help and act upon it, before it gets out of hand.” Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “One example, is” has an unnecessary comma, while “The problem is that, some people…” also separates the clause incorrectly. “Simply because of their finances and social status” is a sentence fragment, and “the feeling of burnt out” has an incorrect grammatical construction. Practise joining dependent ideas into complete sentences and review punctuation around introductory phrases and clauses.

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