Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-01

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 some societes it's thought that people suffer from more stress than they did in the past while others feels that the previous generations were under more pressure, but still the idea of suffering from stress did not exist.It's all because every generation has it's own way of thinking and adapting, the moment we understand this, these comparisions will be useless.

Older generations used to be under more pressure due to different reasons, it may involves workload, family issues, hard work, no automated way of doing a task, transportation issues and the most important the pressure of society "What will people say?". They had pressure in doing things or living their life as they never had boundries and time to know themselves. They mostly used to find themselves in a position where they never wanted to be in as the society back than would have pushed them in. Moreover the older generations don't accept these terms "stress" or "depression" as they think onlypeople with weak character would have such things due to the fact they lived under a stance of " what will people say?"

While on the other hand the younger or the newer generation focuses on self development, setting boundries and being independent. The stress they feel is all related to the ongoing global inflation and the downgrade of the job market, global warming, wars around them and not have healthy nutrients. This generation focuses on their goals but aren't able to achieve them due to disasturous constraints, religious fights, racism, gender inequality etc.

In my opinion both of the generations have had stress, older generation thinking this way for younger generation might be due to the recent technological developments that have made life easier but there are 2 major reasons of this disagreement:

1) The POV, hey both need to put themselves into each others boots to understand where and how they felt the stress.

2) Acceptance, the younger generation accepts it as stress and don't count it as a weakness but a reality of tday's world.

So stress always existed but the way of it's cause and effects changed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both perspectives and give a clear overall view: stress has existed across generations, although its causes and recognition have changed. The discussion of older pressures includes workload, family expectations and social judgement, while the newer generation’s pressures include inflation, employment prospects and global problems. These are relevant examples. However, some points are asserted rather than explained—for instance, the effects of global warming and poor nutrition are listed without showing how they create stress. Your opinion is clearest in the conclusion, but the numbered points about perspective and acceptance could be connected more directly to the comparison. Develop a few examples in greater depth and make the relationship between each reason and your position explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to older-generation pressures, newer-generation pressures and a concluding opinion. Paragraphing helps distinguish the main stages of the discussion, and phrases such as “Moreover” and “While on the other hand” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes list-like, particularly where several pressures are named without being grouped or explained. The numbered points in the conclusion also interrupt the essay’s otherwise paragraph-based style, and “hey both” makes the reference unclear. Some linking is mechanical or awkward. Group related examples, use clearer references, and connect the conclusion’s points in a short, unified paragraph to make the argument flow more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary to discuss social pressures, including “self development,” “global inflation,” “job market,” “gender inequality” and “acceptance.” These terms help convey the contrast between generations, and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “pressure of society,” though some combinations are unnatural or imprecise. Spelling and word-form errors—including “societes,” “comparisions,” “boundries” and “disasturous”—are noticeable, as are informal choices such as “POV” and “boots.” Aim for more accurate collocations and a consistent academic register; proofreading spelling and replacing conversational shorthand with formal equivalents would make your ideas more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while,” “as” and “due to the fact that.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main argument can generally be followed. However, some grammatical errors affect accuracy: “others feels” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, “it may involves” uses the wrong verb form, and “the younger generation … don't” has agreement problems. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in the opening, where sentences run together, and the final section, where a colon introduces numbered points. Review agreement and verb forms, and divide long or joined ideas into correctly punctuated sentences. More consistent control of these patterns would make the complex structures clearer.

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