Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-02

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)

It is true that in contemporary life, most of the people says the main way to be happy is lot of money. Because, now a days if you have good earning, everyone respect you. If you do not have, then no one will see you.

Now a days, relations are dependent on the money not even happy with love and good life. Money is the important role to live in a today's life, as everything is very expensive like grocery, clothing and other expenses.

According to me, everything is not like money. If you have a good relations with your family and friends it does not matter how the money is important in your life. Because relations are not buy with money, it always appers with some respect and time spend with each other. Money gives you better living life but not gaves you best persons in the life. As an example, if you have a good relations with family and friends then you happy with a long life. On the other side, if you have only money with no relations, then the happiness is temporary.

In conclude, money and relations are both as an important role in our daily lives. It depends on person to person. But if you want to happy with a longer life the good relations are better then money. It also reduce your stress level, because you have some persons in your life to sharing some things. Old persons are always respect enthusiastically with the relations in my country. I always learn these thing from them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you explain that money can provide a better standard of living when essentials such as groceries and clothing are expensive, and you identify family and friends as another source of happiness. Your position—that relationships matter more for lasting happiness—is clear, especially in the contrast between temporary happiness from money and support from loved ones. However, the explanation of how money itself can make people happy is brief, and some claims, such as “everyone respect you,” are broad rather than supported with a specific example. Develop both sides more evenly by explaining how financial security can reduce worry or provide opportunities, then illustrate this with a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it introduces the topic, discusses money, presents relationships as an alternative, and ends with a conclusion. The contrast signalled by “On the other side” helps the reader follow your main comparison. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the opening moves quickly from respect to being ignored, while the second paragraph’s point about relationships and money is difficult to interpret. Several sentences begin with “Because,” and repeated phrases such as “Now a days” make the linking feel mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting explanation directly to the paragraph’s main idea. More precise referencing would also help readers understand what “these thing” refers to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “expenses,” “respect,” “temporary,” and “stress level,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word-choice or collocation errors make expressions unnatural, such as “better living life,” “best persons,” and “relations are not buy with money.” Spelling and word forms also need attention, as in “appers” and “gaves.” These issues sometimes make the reader pause to interpret your meaning. Build a more precise set of phrases for discussing financial security and personal relationships, and check whether words naturally combine in English. For example, use “quality of life” rather than “living life,” and “relationships cannot be bought” rather than “relations are not buy.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including conditional contrasts such as “if you have… then…” and a reason clause introduced by “because.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the central message remains understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction recur. For instance, “most of the people says” should use a plural verb, while “Money is the important role” needs a different grammatical structure. The fragment “Because, now a days…” and the construction “if you want to happy” also show weak control of clauses and verb patterns. Practise forming complete sentences and checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and infinitives before submitting.

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