Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-26

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 5.5)

Today's world people mostly relay on the concept that cash is the only way to make someone living happy, without funds no one can servive.Mostly individuals says the leading way to be glad in life is to have a lot of means, but there are a lot of other things that can make any one life happy.

Firstly, in many ways it may be true due to some reasons. When ever you go to the market to buy households, someting to eat you need cash in hand or in your bank account for buy things, if you don not have enough cash you can not buy anything.For instance, when someone go to buy new house in any modern society for better living they need money , so in this way one's need money to be happyly live in that particular appartment.

In addition, there are also many things that makes a man happy beside means. Most important is family and friends. To live more happy you need good friends and family. For instance, you have a lot of money but you do not have better family and good friends then your living may be affect by some emotions like when you need love , kindness and emphty then you need family and friends,with money you can not buy these emotions with capitals. So, beside money these relations also very importnat lonely means can not the things which you can servive in life.

As a result, if someone want to happy in their life then beside money , emotional relaionships like friends and family were also important in life. Capital can not buy happyness alone friends and family is also most importnat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question: money can provide necessities and housing, while family and friends offer love, kindness and empathy. Your position—that money matters but is not enough on its own—is clear in the introduction and conclusion. However, the explanation of how money creates happiness is narrow, focusing mainly on buying things, and the examples are general rather than fully explained. The discussion of relationships is more developed, but the essay would answer the task more completely by explaining other sources of happiness, such as health, meaningful work or personal achievement, and showing how these contribute to well-being. The response meets the stated length requirement; eight words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs about money and relationships, and a concluding summary. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “In addition” and “As a result” help signal the stages of the argument. However, some connections are mechanical, and the progression within paragraphs is not always clear. For example, the first body paragraph moves from shopping for food to buying a house without explaining how these examples relate to happiness. References such as “these emotions” and “these relations” are understandable but could be more precise. To strengthen the organisation, give each paragraph a clear central point, develop it with explanation and a relevant example, and use linking phrases that show the relationship between ideas rather than simply marking order.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “cash,” “bank account,” “love,” “kindness” and “emotions,” and the reader can generally understand your main ideas. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, particularly “money,” “happy” and “family and friends.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems, such as “relay” for “rely,” “servive” for “survive,” and “emphthy” for “empathy.” Some expressions are unnatural or unclear, including “living happy,” “happyly live” and “with capitals.” Build a more precise range of topic vocabulary and check spelling and collocations. For instance, use “financial security” or “meet basic needs” when explaining how money can improve people’s lives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a conditional structure in “if you have a lot of money but you do not have better family and good friends.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence boundaries occur frequently enough to make some ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “individuals says,” “things that makes a man happy,” and “when someone go to buy new house.” There are also missing or misplaced punctuation marks, as in “anything.For instance” and “friends,with money.” Practise forming accurate subject–verb combinations and complete sentences before adding complexity. Careful editing for articles, plural forms and punctuation would make your argument clearer and more controlled.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.