Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-05

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)

A lot of people believe that "Money is the only important thing in life to be happy" and I strongly believe that Money do matters but it is not only the thing that matters. A couple of other things are essential to live a healthy and happy life.

The main reason I say so because in my opinion, Happiness is a personal matter and it can vary from person to person.

Some people might get joy from material things like shopping from luxury brands, following trends and enjoying international vacations. There is nothing wrong in it. To fulfil all of these leisures in life, one indeed need to have a frequent amount of monetary resources. But a lot of money feels sometimes usless if there is no family to spend on.

While there are certain people who find happiness in spending quality time with their families, playing games, eating food, pursuing hobbies like painting, dancing, singing and much more. Moreover, this kind of people are least bothered about money. To them, happiness comes with living healthy and peaceful life.

However, I believe that definite amount of income contributes to the happy life too. Since, pursuing hobbies, eating healthy and educating oneself, everyone needs a certain amount of money to spend. Also, it is advisable to have emergency fund and handful of savings and investments in order to live a stress free life.

Therefore, to conclude my opinion, I would say that money is required to live a comfortable life but it is not the only requirement to live a happy life. There are other factors that are essential for healthy, happy and successful life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both how money brings happiness and what alternative factors contribute to a fulfilling life, such as family and hobbies. The position is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is uneven; while the section on material wealth and leisure is adequately supported, the discussion surrounding alternative sources of happiness is somewhat brief and relies on listing examples rather than extending them thoroughly. This places the task response comfortably at the targeted level, where relevant ideas are present but some require deeper elaboration to reach higher proficiency.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Ideas are generally grouped logically into paragraphs, moving smoothly from monetary sources of joy to alternative non-monetary factors. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'Therefore', though referencing and transitions can occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, as seen with the recurring use of 'some people' and 'other people'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the argument, showing clear organizational control that meets the requirements of this band while laying the groundwork for more fluid progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'monetary resources', 'leisures', 'emergency fund', and 'investments'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some inaccuracies in word choice and word form occur, such as writing 'do matters' instead of 'does matter', 'frequent amount' instead of 'significant amount', and 'usless'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the train of thought clearly without strain.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct multi-clause sentences using subordinating conjunctions like 'while', 'since', and 'in order to'. However, there are notable errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues ('this kind of people are'), missing articles ('live healthy and peaceful life', 'definite amount'), and minor prepositional inconsistencies. Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the sentence structures remain reasonably varied throughout the piece.

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