Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-07
IELTS Writing Task 2 question
Some people say the main way to be happy in life is to have a lot of money. How might having a lot of money make people happy? What other things in life can make people happy?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Student answer (Band 6.5)
In today's world, money plays a major role in every human's life. Almost every human in this world has a goal to earn enough amount of money to live his/her life comfortably. Therefore, some people believe that individuals who have money can live a happy and joyful life while others believe that money is not required to live a peaceful life. In the upcoming paragraphs, I'll discuss both these views and the reasons behind these opinions.
To start with the view of earning millions to live better standard of living, there are enormous reasons. First of all, money make people's life much easier to live. Today, we live in a world, where people can make and purchase things that provide them comfort, recognition in society and all other luxurious amenities. Furthermore, with the proper use of money, they can get good education, employment opportunities, a good place to live, enough food and branded clothes which make people happy and they feel good about themselves.
On the other hand, some people believe that people can remain happy even they have not large sums of money available. Money can buy materialistic things but one cannot buy peace and happiness with money. There are things such as respect, family support, love, peace which do not have monetary value to purchase and are most essential to live a healthy and happy life. For example, many millionaires suffer from so much stress, pressure and other mental and physical problems because of staying rich and wealthy. However, an average earner can relax himself and can lead happy life without having any of these problems.
At last, in my opinion, yes money is important to buy things which are essential to live such as clothes, shelter and food but it is not necessary that having money always guaranteed to live happiness and peace in life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response addresses all parts of the prompt. You clearly explain how money contributes to happiness through comfort and social status, and you provide alternative sources of happiness such as family and love. The position is consistent throughout. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more specific. For instance, instead of mentioning 'many millionaires' generally, you could briefly describe a specific scenario or a more nuanced observation about the trade-offs between wealth and mental well-being. The ideas are relevant, but some development is slightly repetitive, particularly in the conclusion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'To start with', 'Furthermore', and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly unnatural, such as 'At last' to introduce the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'these problems') is always precise to avoid ambiguity.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'luxurious amenities', 'monetary value', and 'materialistic things'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'earning millions to live better standard of living' (should be 'a better standard') and 'having money always guaranteed to live happiness' (should be 'guarantees happiness'). To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing like 'make people happy' or 'live a... life'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement ('money make people's life') and article usage ('live a happy and joyful life' vs 'lead a happy life'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'even they have not large sums of money'. Increasing the frequency of error-free complex sentences and proofreading for basic subject-verb and article errors will help you achieve a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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