Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-27

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)

Nowadays, stress is the major problem all around the world and many people thought that they face many problems and many difficulties. Some people believe that the amount of stress in increased rapidly as compared to the past. While others argue that the previous generations were under more pressure.

On the one hand, it is often argued that stress is common in the modern era, due to less private space and people are not friendly. People are very busy in their daily chores. For instance, they have a busy routine and do not have enough time to do any joyful activities to relax their mind. Moreover, they have not enough time to spend with their families and friends. They have no time relax their minds and go outside. The job schedules are very strict because of the work burden. This is the primary reason for their stress.

On the other hand, as compared to the past, the idea of suffering from stress also exist. Because they had limited educational opportunities and more financial problems. In addition, technology was not developed, so daily tasks were often difficult and time-consuming. Furthermore, people spend their life peacefully and the adults were went to their farms and spend a lot of time their to look after of the fields. Therefore, people in the past also several reasons to feel stressed.

In conclusion, stress has always been a part of human life. However, its causes have changed over time, and modern society has introduced new challenges that can increase people stress level.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both views and give a concluding position: the essay explains pressures in modern life and notes that earlier generations faced educational, financial and practical difficulties. The conclusion that stress has always existed but its causes have changed is relevant and gives the response a clear overall direction. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The modern-life paragraph lists busy routines, limited time and work demands, but does not explain in detail how these pressures affect people or provide a specific example. The past-generation paragraph also introduces difficulties without comparing their impact with present-day stress. To strengthen the response, explain each view more fully and make your own judgement explicit in the body as well as the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. The signposts “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the discussion, and the ideas within each main paragraph are generally grouped by time period. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated references to having “no time,” and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, “Furthermore, people spend their life peacefully” does not clearly connect the earlier practical difficulties to the claim that life was peaceful. Use referencing and transitions that show the precise relationship between claims, and organise each paragraph around a central point followed by explanation or an example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “financial problems,” “educational opportunities,” “work burden,” and “time-consuming.” These choices show awareness of the subject, but the range is limited and several phrases are unnatural or imprecise, which makes parts of the argument less clear. For instance, “less private space” does not clearly express the intended modern pressure, while “do any joyful activities” and “look after of the fields” are awkward collocations. Repetition of “time” and “stress” also limits variety. Build a more precise range for describing pressures and their effects, and check whether word combinations sound natural in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay includes simple sentences and attempts to connect ideas with subordinate clauses, as in “because of the work burden” and “so daily tasks were often difficult and time-consuming.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “the amount of stress in increased,” “the idea … also exist,” and “the adults were went to their farms,” where verb forms are not controlled. There are also problems with sentence construction, such as the fragment beginning “Because they had limited educational opportunities,” and missing grammatical elements in “They have no time relax their minds.” Practise accurate past and present verb forms, complete clauses, and varied sentence patterns before adding more complex structures.

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