Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-28

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 the modern age, stress is mentioned as a major problem as most of the people thought that the stress is increasing more speedily as compared to past. Whereas others believe that the amount of stress people have today is exaggerated and the idea of suffering from stress did not exist. Both topics have valid arguments. This essay will discuss both topics.

Mostly individuals believe that the people of previous generation faced more difficulties than of the modern age. As they faced the wars, migrations and limited heath cares which is understandable to a great extent. Instead, they accepted those problems as a normal part of life. As a result, some believe that today's concerns about stress are exaggerated.

On the other hand, the people of the modern age have also some kinds of complications. Employees have to complete their tasks before the deadlines. Time management, task completion have bad effect on the workers. As a result, they take tension of it and often pass through the stress. The students also have prepare themselves because the competition is to hard. Similarly, the technology also force individuals to compare themselves with others. These factors can increase anxiety and make it difficult to escape from it.

From my perspective, I firmly believe that the earlier generations faced more hardships that the people of modern age. But the new technology and modern world also plays an important role in enforcing stress as most of the people becomes jobless as the Artificial Intelligence in enhancing the quality of work and most of the work in now computer based. Consequently, stress has become more widespread issue now a days.

In conclusion, although stress existed in the past, but now, a lot of people are suffering from it as the life style has been changing rapidly.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both views and give a clear personal position: you acknowledge that earlier generations faced wars and migration, then discuss modern workplace, student and technology-related pressures. Your conclusion also returns to the comparison. These relevant points meet the task, but some are less fully explained than others. For example, the claim that earlier generations faced greater hardship is supported with examples, while the link between AI, unemployment and increased stress is asserted rather than explained or illustrated. The discussion of why past generations may not have described their experiences as stress could also be developed. To strengthen the response, explain how each example supports your comparison and make your final position more precise about whether stress is greater today or simply more recognised. (19 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, your opinion, and a conclusion. Linking expressions such as “On the other hand,” “As a result,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main direction. However, some connections feel mechanical or do not express the relationship precisely. “Instead” does not clearly link the hardships of earlier generations to their acceptance of them, and “But” in the conclusion creates an awkward contrast after “although.” The paragraph about modern pressures also moves quickly from employees to students and technology without fully connecting these examples. Use transitions that show the exact relationship between ideas, and develop each paragraph around a clearer sequence of claim, explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “migrations,” “deadlines,” “competition,” “anxiety” and “widespread.” This allows you to discuss both historical hardship and contemporary pressures. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which limits precision: “limited heath cares,” “take tension of it,” and “the competition is to hard” do not express the intended ideas naturally. There are also spelling and word-form problems, such as “now a days” and “jobless” where the intended meaning appears to be unemployment caused by automation. Aim to learn common word partnerships and check spelling and forms. More precise vocabulary would make your argument clearer without requiring more complicated words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “As,” “Whereas” and “although,” and most of your meaning remains understandable. However, errors occur across the response, particularly in verb agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction. Examples include “the students also have prepare themselves,” “technology also force individuals,” and “most of the people becomes jobless.” The opening sentence also has an awkward structure, while “although stress existed in the past, but now” combines two contrasting structures incorrectly. Review subject–verb agreement and the forms required after modal verbs, and avoid joining “although” with “but.” Building accurate sentences first will help you use complex structures more confidently.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.