Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-02

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 stress. Many people consider it is one of the major problems of the society, whereas some people argue that the amount of stress have today is exaggerated beacuse older people were work so hard and take extra pressure but they didn't feel stressed. I agree that people feel more stressed beacuse they value their mental health ehich our previous gerenations didn't.

Nowadays, people suffer from stress in many cases. They can't take too much pressure. When people work more than their capacity, they feel stressed. Sometimes, students study just before their exam and find studying stressful. Excessive work may also create mental pressure. For example, if a company gives too much workload to an employee, it will be challenging for him to do.

On the other hand, some people find that stress is exaggerated. Elder people were under more pressure but the nidea of suffering from stree did not exist that time. The reason behind it was they never think about their mental health. That time physical labour was the main pressure and people do not undergone any mental pressure. That is why, they never feel it or prirotize it. Nowadays, due to the advancement of technology and many invention, people had to take stressful jobs and they suffer from that.

Overal, I think ignorance was the main factor that suppress the concept of stress in older times. People perform many stressful jobs which was not avilable in the past. Beacuse of that people suffer from more stress than their previous gerenations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both views and state your position: you agree that people experience more stress today because they value mental health more than earlier generations did. The examples of students studying before exams and employees facing excessive workloads are relevant, and the final paragraph returns to your opinion. However, the discussion is only partly developed. The claim that earlier generations faced mainly physical pressure, while modern technology has created stressful jobs, is asserted rather than explained or supported with a specific example. Your explanation of why stress was less recognised in the past is more developed than the case for why people today actually experience more stress. Clarifying the distinction between greater stress and greater awareness would make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for the two views, and a conclusion. Transitions such as “On the other hand” and “Overall” help signal the direction of the discussion, and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes loose: the paragraph about earlier generations moves from mental health to physical labour and then to technology without clearly connecting each point. Some links are also repetitive or mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “That is why” and “Because of that.” Make the relationship between each claim and its supporting example explicit, and use clearer referencing so readers can follow which generation or type of pressure you mean.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “mental health,” “workload,” “physical labour,” and “pressure.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “excessive work” and “advancement of technology.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or combinations are inaccurate, which occasionally makes the meaning less clear. For example, “the amount of stress have today” and “people do not undergone any mental pressure” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “beacuse,” “stree,” and “gerenations” are noticeable. Build a wider set of accurate collocations for discussing causes, levels, and awareness of stress, and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “whereas” and a conditional example beginning “When people work more than their capacity.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, control is inconsistent, especially in verb forms and subject–verb agreement. Examples include “the amount of stress have today,” “older people were work so hard,” and “people do not undergone.” Tense choices also shift in the discussion of past and present, as in “people had to take stressful jobs” followed by “they suffer from that.” Articles and sentence construction need attention too. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject, correctly formed verb, and consistent time reference; this will make your ideas easier to read.

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