Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-19

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)

In today's world stress is the biggest health concern of all time, most of the individuals have this pressure from work, employment, studies aned there are uncountable things from which a person can get stressed from. However, with this concern it is not that we will forget past people stress and from the difficulties they get this stress. In my opinion, people suffer more stress today because of modern lifestyle and more competition.

On the one hand, people are stressed by many things and it is taken as a serious threat and a serious issue. The source of this stress can be many things and many problems, such as employment, studies, financial problems, poverty and house problems. Every individual have a different problemand it is normal in many societies. For example, a student can get stressed because of getting low grades, a man can be stressed by employment problems, a person can be taumatized and stressed because of his expenses and financial condition, a women can be stressed by household problems. In addition, by the means of social media a person can feel unhappy, by seeing different lifestyles of people and comparing himself to others.

On the other hand, some individuals says that people often have stress in past, but it is not as highlighted in past as shown today. At some extinct it is true. Many people feel stress and taumatized by lack of education, lack of health facilities, poverty and by having a disturbed life balance.For instance, due to lack of illlness many people face stress because back then not good medication was available. Farmers may be stressed by work load, income and about field crops growth. It means that stress existed in the past, but people may have not understood it as we do today.

In conclusion, there are stress in both era's, but the modern lifestyle and competition have increased it today. Stress also depends on a person's situation and responsibilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both perspectives and state a clear view: modern lifestyles and competition create greater stress today. The first body paragraph gives relevant examples involving work, study, finances and social media, while the second recognises that earlier generations faced poverty, limited healthcare and demanding agricultural work. This covers the task, but some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the claim that social media increases stress through comparison could be linked more clearly to its effects, and the past-versus-present comparison would benefit from a direct explanation of what has changed. The example about illness is also difficult to follow. Develop fewer examples in more depth and make the comparison between the two views more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a conclusion that restates your position. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and some sentences list examples without showing how they connect to the main point. The transition “However, with this concern” is unclear, and the sentence beginning “At some extinct” does not clearly establish the relationship between the past and present arguments. Use more precise linking and refer back to the central comparison, rather than relying mainly on set phrases. Clearer links between each example and its paragraph’s main idea would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “financial problems,” “health facilities,” “social media,” “competition” and “responsibilities,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “disturbed life balance,” though this phrasing is not natural in context. The range is limited by repeated use of “stress,” “problems” and “people,” and several inaccurate word choices or spellings distract the reader, including “taumatized,” “aned” and “illlness.” Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms—for example, use “psychological pressure” or “sources of strain” where appropriate. Check spelling carefully and choose expressions that sound natural in academic writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including examples introduced with “because” and a contrast between the two views. However, errors in agreement, articles, sentence boundaries and clause construction are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning harder to follow. For instance, “Every individual have” should use a singular verb, and “some individuals says” needs plural agreement. The opening sentence is a comma splice, while “there are stress in both era's” has problems with the verb, article and plural form. Some sentences also contain several ideas joined without clear punctuation. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build longer sentences around one clear main clause, checking punctuation and articles during revision.

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