It is said that day-by-day people’s lives are becoming increasingly stressful. What are the reasons behind that? What can be done to solve this problem?
Sample Response
It is believed that people's lives are becoming more stressfullives are getting more stressful over timeas days pass by. This essay will discuss its causes as well as measures that can be employed to alleviate this problem. One reason why modern life seems to create more pressurelives seem to cause more frustration is that work is even more demanding nowadays. People might be required to work longer hours. Not to mention that technology has made it increasingly harder for people to stop thinking about their jobs even when they are at home. As such, they might not have enough time to relax properly. Secondly, both partners are more likely to workboth spouses are more likely to be working due to higher living costs. This means that they have to juggle their careers with household chores, making them busier than ever. Unfortunately, they might struggle to do both responsibilitiesworks and in turn, put more strain on familiesthem. It is therefore crucialIt is therefore, crucial for people to take actiontake some actions to counter stress. Firstly, they should take a day off at least once a week to unwind. This is to ensure that their stress levelslevel can be somewhat lowered. After all, constant strain on the body and mind might eventually take its toll on people's wellbeing. Furthermore, they should pursue their hobbies no matter how busy they are. This is because hobbies are proven to be effective in reducingcombatting stress and providing relief from daily routinesmundane lives. Thus, they are likely to recharge their energy and refresh their mindsmind by doing their favourite pastimes. For example, listening to music is considered to have the benefit of reducing stress. In conclusion, there are two reasons as to why lives seem to be increasingly stressful. Even so, there are some ways to address this issuesome means of combatting this issue to live a happier and stress-free life.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response addresses both causes and remedies clearly, using relevant explanations and generally flexible, accurate language. Its main weakness is presentation: the entire argument appears as one long paragraph, while some solutions remain narrowly focused on individual action. Organise the essay into clear functional paragraphs and add a broader workplace or social remedy that directly matches the causes.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response clearly answers both parts of the question, giving two causes of stress and two practical solutions. The ideas are relevant and developed with explanation, although the solutions remain fairly individual-focused and could include workplace or social measures.
Add one broader solution, such as employer limits on after-hours communication or affordable childcare, to match the causes more directly.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument progresses logically from causes to solutions and then conclusion, but it is written as one long paragraph. Cohesive devices are generally clear, yet paragraphing would make the structure much easier to follow.
Use four paragraphs: introduction, causes, solutions, and conclusion, with a topic sentence at the start of each body paragraph.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and mostly natural, with phrases such as demanding, alleviate, juggle their careers, unwind, wellbeing, and recharge their energy. Some expressions are less precise, including lives seem to cause more frustration, both works, and mundane lives.
Replace broad words with precise phrases such as modern life is more stressful, manage both responsibilities, and daily routines.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Grammar is generally accurate, and the essay uses a range of complex sentences. There are still occasional problems with word form, plural reference, punctuation around therefore, and awkward noun phrases, but they rarely impede meaning.
Proofread for countable nouns and sentence-level punctuation, especially around linking adverbs such as therefore.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
It is said that day-by-day people’s lives are becoming increasingly stressful. What are the reasons behind that? What can be done to solve this problem?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.