Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-18

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)

There is an ongoing debate about if people nowdays are being stressed more than the old times, or this claim overestimates the reality that stress was less common in the past. As i see suffer is more common today than before.This essay will go through discussing both views equally.

On the one hand, the world lately is getting developed in a rapid way, and technology has made this even fatser. This speed makes everyone rushed, stressed and under a long term pressure. In instance, every company owner is trying to build wealth pressing his workers to work day and night for him, while paying them a few cents to live with. Moreover, exams, interviews and success are main factors of stress as competition rose people are afraid of not taking what suits them.For example, 300 peaople being interviewed for only one position.

On the other hand, wolrd wars, nuclear weapons were messing people's minds ,as they were only thinking on how they get there food or live for one more night.As in the wolrd wars 1 and 2 , everyone was scared of being killed by a nuclear bomb, even government lived under high pressure periods.Furthermore, neither transportations nor communication tools existed back then, old people always stressed about there families when they leave home or chage the country looking for work.

To conclude, people oldly suffered from high level stress at certain periods, however , In the present stress is dominant due it's existence in evrydays life of almost everyone.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear overall opinion: you argue that stress is more common today, while acknowledging pressures faced by earlier generations. The two body paragraphs are relevant, with examples such as workplace demands and competition for one position, followed by war and concern for family members. This fits the task because both perspectives are considered. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the link between rapid technological development and greater stress could be made clearer, and the historical paragraph focuses heavily on wars without comparing ordinary pressures across generations. Develop each main reason with a fuller explanation or a specific, well-connected example to make the discussion more balanced and convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the overall organisation. This gives the essay a coherent arrangement. Some connections within paragraphs are less smooth, however. The shift from technology to company owners and then to exams is abrupt, and the sentence beginning “Moreover” runs ideas together without clear punctuation. The conclusion also repeats the position without drawing the two arguments together. Group related examples more deliberately, use clear sentence boundaries, and add brief links explaining how each example supports the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “competition,” “under pressure,” “nuclear weapons,” and “communication tools,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, the range and control are limited by repeated general words such as “stress” and “pressure,” as well as noticeable spelling and word-choice errors. Examples include “nowdays,” “fatser,” “peaople,” and “wolrd,” while “build wealth pressing his workers” is an awkward combination of words. These errors sometimes make the reader pause to interpret the message. Build a wider set of accurate expressions for causes and effects of stress, and check spelling and collocations carefully. More precise wording would make your examples clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast between the two views and clauses introduced by “while” and “when.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but there are some errors in sentence construction, agreement, articles, and punctuation. For example, “As i see suffer is more common today than before” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “competition rose people are afraid” joins two clauses without a suitable connector or punctuation. In “everyone was scared of being killed,” the sentence is clearer, but the surrounding paragraph contains long, loosely connected structures. Practise building accurate complex sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and use full stops or conjunctions to separate complete ideas.

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