money is important for happiness essay ielts

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September 17, 2014

Ielts writing task 2: 'happiness' essay.

Here's my full essay for the question below.

Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness?

It is no doubt true that the majority of people would like to be happy in their lives. While the personal nature of happiness makes it difficult to describe, there do seem to be some common needs that we all share with regard to experiencing or achieving happiness.

Happiness is difficult to define because it means something different to each individual person. Nobody can fully understand or experience another person’s feelings, and we all have our own particular passions from which we take pleasure. Some people, for example, derive a sense of satisfaction from earning money or achieving success, whereas for others, health and family are much more important. At the same time, a range of other feelings, from excitement to peacefulness, may be associated with the idea of happiness, and the same person may therefore feel happy in a variety of different ways.

Although it seems almost impossible to give a precise definition of happiness, most people would agree that there are some basic preconditions to achieving it. Firstly, it is hard for a person to be happy if he or she does not have a safe place to live and enough food to eat. Our basic survival needs must surely be met before we can lead a pleasant life. Secondly, the greatest joy in life is usually found in shared experiences with family and friends, and it is rare to find a person who is content to live in complete isolation. Other key factors could be individual freedom and a sense of purpose in life.

In conclusion, happiness is difficult to define because it is particular to each individual, but I believe that our basic needs for shelter, food and company need to be fulfilled before we can experience it.

(292 words, band 9)

Wow, it is truly amazing! Simon, I was wondering can I use "to achieve" rather than "to achieving"???

Posted by: Hannah | September 17, 2014 at 09:34

"There do seem to be" Can someone explain this to me?

Posted by: uyen | September 17, 2014 at 10:26

Hi Simon, Your essay is brilliant. I just wonder how you can have many excellent ideas. I am struggling to answer these questions for long time. Even the model answer in Cambridge IELTS book is weak. It did not really answer the second question in this essay.

One IELTS examiner whom I had a one to one lesson with said that using 'you' and 'we' is informal. However I have noticed that 'you' and 'we' are used in many model answers of essays in Cambridge IELTs books. Is it true that the styles of writing really depend on each individual examiner's taste?

Thank you Jing

Posted by: Jing | September 17, 2014 at 10:42

Anyone who needs some tips can send me a message. We can do some practice.

[email protected]

Posted by: Tolga | September 17, 2014 at 10:53

Hannah! we're supposed to use 'to achieving' because it goes with 'with regard to'

Posted by: Shanara Vo | September 17, 2014 at 11:54

what should i do to improve ideas and show off all of my thoughts? helpsss

Posted by: Chi | September 17, 2014 at 11:55

Uyen, I believe that 'seem' is just a verb. People tend to use it to soft their tone of voice. This means the phenomena described are not absolute or definite. There are many similar words often used in academic writing. For example, 'there could be' or 'there is a tendency'.

Hope this will help

Posted by: Jing | September 17, 2014 at 12:25

I have a question. Why you give your opinion in the conclusion? In the topic they do not ask you about your opinion. Is it really so important to give your opinion?

Posted by: roshavbg | September 17, 2014 at 12:37

Hi Simon, I was wondering if we need complicated language in the Writing task 2. My teacher said that I should use sentences like "Money is to the people what blood is to the body" in my essay in order to get high score. But I've read many band 9 examples on your website and I've never seen you use these sentences. So what should I do?

Posted by: Kristen | September 17, 2014 at 13:44

I am always greatly grateful for your essay. Currently, I am studying IELTS alone with the aid of your website. And of course, I purchase your e-book. Many essays provided on your website and E-book help me to improve the level of my written skill.

Thank you ;)

Posted by: Susie | September 17, 2014 at 14:09

Anyone please can tell me what do you think about my writing and what grade should I have: Happiness is considered as an aim for every humain on earth. It is indeed a shared goal, yet still defficult to define because it means different things to different people and there are many contributers in achieving a sense of it.

Happiness has a relative meaning to each one of us. Some people relate it to being wealthy, so they spend their entire lives stuck in careers which provide a lot of money but very less means of rest and recreation. while others relate it to a deeper meaning like being healthy and having a supporting family with successful children. others may draw a sense of happiness from having a feeling of excitement when practicing their favorite hobby like: exploring the world by traveling, learning new languages, reading novels or going out with friends. these are different forms of happiness which makes it a very wide concept of life.

while it is hard for people to come to a same conclusion on the issue of happiness, a range of common needs are considered to be important in achieving happiness. First one needs to see the joy even in small things in life in order to be satisfied. For instance: we need to have money which is affordable for a living and for our needs, to have a loving surroundings, we also need to think wisely about the way we care about our health and to practice what we love most in our free time. another important factor should be dedicating a small portion of our lives to the sake of helping others and drwing a smile in desperate faces.

In conclusion, even though it is hard to define happiness in one simple way, one can still consider a balanced combination of ideas which can make their lives happier.

Posted by: Bia | September 17, 2014 at 16:16

Actually your essay is almost perfect.but im not really convinced with two expressions : It is no doubt true (do u mean there is not a shadow of doubt or what?) The second is there do seem to be Soo much thanks

Posted by: Nour | September 17, 2014 at 16:22

@Bia: Your essay is really good, just re-read again and double check some minor mistake in spelling,comma, full stop etc...other wise it almost as good a Simon's :))

Posted by: Hannah | September 17, 2014 at 16:28

@Hannah, I m really really grateful for your encouraging words, May God bless you. Acctually I m preaparing to take the IELTS test next November which is 2 months for now, I feel a little frustrated and need to do more preparation. I will be glad if Hannah or anyone else can practice with me the speaking part via skype. Thanks again.

Posted by: Bia | September 17, 2014 at 19:21

Hey Simon I am following your post from last month and it helps me alot for my test prepration. @bia I am also planning to apear in ielts in november, we can practice together if you like.as speaking part is giving me tough time . thanks

Posted by: amarah | September 17, 2014 at 22:28

a friend of mine recommend your site..and i was so thankful because i found it very helpful.

im going to take exam on nov 1st.. but im worried about my writing...hopefully i could get 7 thats my target band score...

Posted by: leah | September 17, 2014 at 23:36

"there are some basic preconditions to achieving it" should be " there are some basic preconditions for achieving it"? Is it right?

Posted by: yenth | September 18, 2014 at 02:53

I found some brilliant ideas in your essay sample. Many thanks to you, Simon

Posted by: yenth | September 18, 2014 at 02:58

Hi Simon,Hi Everybody I have learnt a new sentence structure from my teacher (non-native speaker) like that: It is of importance for children to learn English as early as possible. Could you tell me whether It is right or wrong? Thank you very much in advance!

Posted by: Alibaba | September 18, 2014 at 03:12

hi simon i had my speaking test yesterday and i am worrying why it was so short. I think it lasted just 7-8 minutes. i think i answered all the questions correctly but i was the last candidate for speaking test and my turn came at exactly 5 pm. may be examiner was tired so he didn't even bother to ask me any more questions. is this gonna affect my result? plzzzzz tell me i m so worried about it.

Posted by: wijah | September 18, 2014 at 03:25

Thanks for sharing your views. Great blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you. I would like to thank for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping the same high-grade blog post from you in the upcoming days as well. A web designer must be very knowledgeable.

Posted by: Shahriar Khan | September 18, 2014 at 08:17

wow, the way you present your ideas. It looks clear and simple but actually very thoughtful w.r.t to this abstract concept. The variety of vocabulary is brilliant. Wish I could do something similar.

Posted by: Bruce | September 18, 2014 at 12:02

Dear Simon:

I think describe and define should be used as passive forms in Introduction and First body: difficult to be described, defined.

Posted by: Rambod | September 18, 2014 at 12:04

I love this part of your sentence: "While the personal nature of happiness makes it difficult to describe..." It's so romantic. I understand why you decorate your website by violet color now. ^^!

Posted by: Vi | September 18, 2014 at 12:53

Hi everyone. I have an exam on Sep 27th in Iran. for speaking practices,If anyone's interested in please add my skype id seyedloghmansanjary. My target is 6.5~7

Posted by: seyedloghman | September 18, 2014 at 13:31

@Amarah it will be great pleasure to practice for the speaking part via skype, my skype is: bialight1. please add me and we ll start. thanks a lot

Posted by: Bia | September 18, 2014 at 14:10

@leah i m taking it on the same day. good luck, lol

Posted by: Mario | September 18, 2014 at 15:20

FROM SIMON:

I'm glad you like the essay guys!

In the comments above, students have expressed confusion about the phrases below:

- to achieving - there do seem to be - it is no doubt true that - difficult to describe (the student suggests using the passive 'difficult to be described')

These are not mistakes. Can anyone explain why?

Posted by: Simon | September 18, 2014 at 17:12

I think the top three phrases are easy to explain:

1. 'With regard to' is always followed by a noun e.g. achieving 2. 'There do seem to be' is a normal sentence: noun+verb 3. 'It is no doubt true that ' is again a normal sentence : noun + is + adverb (no doubt) + adjective (true) + that

I always get confused with the fourth sentence, such as: it is difficult to describe...; Banks are to blame...; Things need to be done...

When do you use past tense? Is it possible to have a daily lesson related this grammar problem, please?

Posted by: Jing | September 18, 2014 at 20:36

Let me try to explain in terms of grammar.

- with regards to achieving: "to" here is a preposition. - there do seem to be: emphasis structure with "do" added. - it is no doubt true that: "no doubt" is an adverb - difficult to describe (the student suggests using the passive 'difficult to be described'): a kind of emphasis when "difficult" comes first, rather than "to describe...is difficult".

Posted by: Bruce | September 18, 2014 at 20:56

Mr Simon Your simply awesome.Thank you for sharing this essay.I think i will make it this time for my writing.

Posted by: UNTILL 7 | September 19, 2014 at 07:37

@Bia- good idea, we can practise together. Im planning to take exam again in this Oct, i need 8 individual and I am close to give up:(

Posted by: Hannah | September 19, 2014 at 10:18

Hi guys, is there anyone who can give me an advice about an essay below that i wrote ? I know this essay is inappropriate on this page... but i have know idea where i need to put this.

Thank you in advance :)

Throughout history, people have dreamed of living in a perfect society. However, there is still no agreement about what a perfect society would be like. What, in your opinion, would be the most important element of a perfect society? What can people do to help create an ideal society? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is no doubt true that living in a perfect society has been dreamt by all people throughout our whole history, but the truth is that the prodigious agreement to defining a perfect society does not even clarify. I believe that safety is the paramount element of a perfect society, and people can take step to make such a desirable society.

The supreme factor creating a perfect society is safety, represented in various ways. The commonly mentioned component of safety is no crime, derived from the trust toward our neighbors. This, for example, allows us to leave doors unlocked. Another component entailing safety is the reliability of the governmental institution and public service so that we can feel protected against any kind of offensive environment which spoil safety of a society. In short, safety is the most basic of a zero flaw society.

There are three different steps that we can take so as to create safety which is basis of a perfect society. First, we need to vote our leader and politicians who are trustworthy, and trust and value the governmental institution so that they can work properly. Second, we could get involved in our community to make sure that we can trust each other within the community. Lastly, the environment need to be looked after so that the safety of our planet can be guaranteed by which we ensure that we recycle waste and reduce the demand of natural resource.

In conclusion, although it is censorious to define what creates a perfect society, I believe the worthy of safety which is the most important base making an ideal society. In order to achieving a society with no defect that we have envisaged throughout our entire society, we need to value safety at first.

Posted by: susie | September 20, 2014 at 13:50

Dear Simon, Thank you so much for the essay. Quote: "Although it seems almost impossible to give a precise definition of happiness, most people would agree that there are some basic preconditions to achieving it."

Can you please explain the differences between "condition" and "precondition"?

Thank you Stella

Posted by: Stella | September 22, 2014 at 03:39

Please somebody score and correct my essay.I have been struggling with IELTS for several years.I need 7 in each

There is no doubt that being happy is the main purpose of life.Though everybody wants to be happy, it is different to each other.

Some get pleasure by having a brand new car,while others may be satisfied through achieving higher degree.To some people,specially older one regard happiness as living a healthy life.There are more people who spend whole life ,even sacrifice their jobs for example, some mothers find their great happiness by bringing their children up properly.Therefore,arrange of definitions could be applied for 'happiness' and it differs from person to person as well.Probably,because of these varieties it is hard to describe 'Happiness' in a sentence or two.

However,even though there are no fixed factors to be happy in life,people should find what makes him or she happy.Once it is realised,he or she could focus on achieving the goal following the calculation of how to reach there.For example,for having a new car,one should save money on regular basis and at the same time he might need to sacrifice buying unnecessary staffs or over shopping.On the other hand,if someone dreamt of being a highly qualified doctor,he might need to study hard and to dedicate his life for serving people.

In conclusion ,it is difficult to difficult to define happiness as choices differs to each other.But once it is recognised by a person that what makes him happy,he should figured out what to do .Then he should proceed according to needs and this ,in my opinion ,is the main key to be happy in life.

Posted by: Farhana | September 22, 2014 at 11:21

i am studying ielts at the moment and our instructors kept on telling us not to use personal pronouns like "I", "you", and "we". only "they" and "them" are allowed.I have browsed through your model essays and you have actually been using the "we". Is it really not allowed, or our lecturers are just being strict?

Posted by: joni | September 22, 2014 at 13:40

Hi Farhana, I think you writing is good and should be between 6.5 and 7.0. I need to declare this is just my own opinion and may not reflects the truth. There are some small errors. For instance, in the second paragraph, do you mean 'a range of definitions ' instead of 'arrange' ? I would change 'sacrifice their jobs' into ' sacrifice their careers' and 'apply for' into 'apply to'. In the third paragraph, maybe you can change 'following the calculation ' into 'following the path that lead to it ' and change 'sacrifice ' into ' be satisfied by'. Nonetheless, you have good ideas and good vocabulary. You can ask Pete (who is Simon' s colleague) to mark your writing. He is very good and gives you lots of feedback very quickly. I gained many good suggestions from him and increase my score from 6.0 to 7.0 in six months as he recommended.

Posted by: Jing | September 22, 2014 at 14:21

1=Happiness is difficult to define because it means something different to each individual person.

2=There are different factors to achieving happiness include health, family, safe place for live, enough food to eat and feeling of peacefulness.

Posted by: Randa | September 22, 2014 at 15:21

I have a question regarding indentation at the beginning of a paragraph. My research showed that both leaving an indentation or one blank line between paragraphs are okay. Some sources however said that an indentation is a must.

Can you please clarify this? Thank you so much!!

Posted by: Stella | September 23, 2014 at 17:08

Either way is fine Stella. I tell my students to leave a line, and many of them have achieved high scores (which proves that indentation is not a must).

Posted by: Simon | September 24, 2014 at 15:42

Thanks very much jing...thanks for reading my essay.by the way how can I contact with Pete and what's the price? Pls let me know

Posted by: Farhana | September 24, 2014 at 16:07

Farhana,, You need to ask Simon for Pete's contact. I have my essays marked by Pete two years ago when I just started to prepare IELTS test. The price for marking each essay is £10, but you need to give three essays (one task1 and two task 2). Unfortunately, just when I reach band 7 on each component, the required score go up to 7.5, so I am still combatting with IELTS. Good luck with your IELTS study

Posted by: Jing | September 24, 2014 at 22:04

someone can help me to answer this question ?tks "the greatest joy in life is usually found in shared experiences with family and friend" why it's "shared" but not "sharing " i'm so confused

Posted by: tung | September 25, 2014 at 09:22

I think both ways of writing are correct. It depends on what you want to emphasize. If you want to focus on the experiences are shared with your family, then it should be 'in shared experiences'. If you want to focus on the action of you sharing experiences with your family, then it should be 'in sharing experiences with somebody'.

Please anyone adds your opinions if I am wrong because I get confused sometimes too.

Posted by: Jing | September 25, 2014 at 10:00

Thanks jing...what a co incident! I also got 7 but now I need 7.5. R u trying for GMC registration?

Posted by: Farhana | September 25, 2014 at 19:25

Farhana, Yes, we are on the same path. I had three attempts of ielts test within three months once I knew the required score was going to rise. Unfortunately I failed all. We can keep in touch if you like. My email is [email protected]

Posted by: Jing | September 25, 2014 at 23:29

im going to take an exam on 11th October in uk any one take the exam and ther is atime diffrence will help , istill waiting your felp to the last minute,

Posted by: noor | September 30, 2014 at 22:13

Farhana and jing would you mind practising speaking on skype? Im a dentist ..what is the date of yr upcoming exam?

Posted by: noor | September 30, 2014 at 22:16

Hi simon and to all readers! Thanks for all the great tips in IELTS. A friend of mine took th exam today and the writing task 2 topic was: State universities must shoulder the expenses of (scholars)highly qualified/intelligent students only. While, for other students(not qualified for scholarship), private organizations and the student himself/herself should share in the school expenses. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Posted by: Jane | October 02, 2014 at 07:39

tks so much jing and good luck for your next test :)

Posted by: tung | October 02, 2014 at 09:45

Hi Simon, Your essay is great. I admire it's simplicity.there is just something about the way you put your points across. It is so relaxing and stress free. Seriously , I can't explain it, but you are good .Thumbs up. I wish I could come up with something like this.

Posted by: flosk | October 07, 2014 at 06:23

I like that description of my essay flosk! Thanks.

Posted by: Simon | October 07, 2014 at 09:53

Hello Simon,

"Although it seems almost impossible to give a precise definition of happiness, most people would agree that there are some basic preconditions to achieving it. "

----> Would you please explain to me how it is "achieving" in this sentence. I am really confused. I read all comments but there do seem no answer yet. Thank you so much.

Posted by: San | October 24, 2014 at 04:10

Here's a lesson I wrote about that:

http://ielts-simon.com/ielts-help-and-english-pr/2014/09/ielts-grammar-googling-for-grammar-patterns.html

Posted by: Simon | October 24, 2014 at 10:59

I sense that there might be something wrong with the expression "a variety of different way". Do you think the meaning of "variety" is overlapping with "different" in this sentence?

Posted by: Ray | November 04, 2014 at 08:20

"a variety of different" is a very common phrase in English (try Googling it).

You are right that we don't really need the words 'variety' and 'different' together (when two words give the same meaning it is called redundancy). However, it isn't grammatically wrong to do this, and it is often done for emphasis.

In short, "a variety of different" isn't wrong, but I understand why you wondered about this phrase.

Posted by: Simon | November 04, 2014 at 09:33

It's no doubt true that happiness plays a very important role in life; however, it is not only difficult to define and but also not easy to achieve happiness.

From my point of view, feeling and mood are the key factors of why it is difficult to define happiness. Different people have different feeling of happiness, and that's why there are different answers and viewpoints when they are asking about the question of what is happiness. For example, some people feel happy in Beijing city because the public transportations like the buses and sub-ways are very cheap. however, some others do not agree as they feel crowed on the buses or sub-ways. Mood is another factor that has great impact on happiness; people often feel happy when he or she is in a good mood; on the contrary, they feel unhappy when he or she is upset and anxious.

People often are eager to having happiness and they put many efforts to try to achieve it. There are a variety of factors that could help people to achieve happiness. Firstly, a positive mindset allows people to face difficulties positively and have confidences to overcome the difficulties; as a result, this kind of mindset often help people get desired outcomes with their continuous efforts, which in turn make them feel happy. Secondly, people should not compare with others too much; they often feel sad or disappointed when they see other people's successes. On the contrary, people are much easier to feel happy when they get some progresses or improvements. Finally, people are much more likely to achieve happiness when they could better adapt the environment and have good relationships with family members and colleagues; In addition, having some good friends are also very important and helpful to help people achieve happiness.

In conclusion, happiness is hard to define, but it is not difficult to achieve it with the helps of various factors.

Posted by: Gary | November 24, 2014 at 02:06

Dear Simon,

Thanks for sharing this lovely essay. Simon, so far I' ve learned from your lessons that we need to address all the statements, in a question, in order to fullfil the criterion for the task response. In my understanding, in this question, there is one background statement: " happiness is considered very important in life," and two direct questions : 1. why is it difficult to define , 2. Factors involved in achieving happiness. Your essays seems to discussing (as is evident from the topic sentences), the 2nd para describes " why it is difficult to define happiness," and the 3rd para highlights the preconditions to achieving happiness. If I were to write this essay, I'd have written the 2nd para disussing about why happiness is important , as well as, why it's difficult to define it.

I'm afraid , I'm getting more and more and more... Confused about the task response.

I'll be thankful to you if you could help to eliminate that confusion.( sorry to bother you again)

Posted by: Abdullah | December 03, 2014 at 13:11

really brilliant job.

thank you so much

Posted by: azim | December 12, 2014 at 18:20

It is true that majority of people are keen on finding out their own happy life because of its importance. While the personal nature of happiness makes it difficult to define, but I believe there are certain measurements in realizing happiness.

Happiness is more difficult to define due to a rich variety of reasons. People understand and perceive it completely different in comparison with each other. For example, it can be described as a feeling of pleasure or enjoyment for some people, who are able to make more and more contribution to our society, whereas for others, it means something different such as a sense of job satisfaction. Some people are more likely strict in workplace and this might makes them to get a sense of achievement when they are able to do their duty more accurately. Apart from this, earning enough money can also be a source of happiness.

There are also several factors which is important in defining happiness. We all are aware of importance of our basic needs, such as food, shelter, clothes, and other things. In order to feel happy and having comfortable life we firstly should be able to cover our intrinsic needs. In addition to this, people need to feel they are spending much of their time with relatives, friends, convincing themselves they experience better life than ever before. Sometimes people are becoming more happy when seeing that their children are useful members of society as a results of high quality of upbringing.

In conclusion, it seems to me that although it is difficult to define happiness, I believe that after answering main needs of us, happiness can be turn into reality.

Posted by: Ali | December 16, 2014 at 12:45

I have been following your blogs since the time i registered for my IELTS. I really admire the way you have explained the approach we should all keep in mind while taking the test(especially the writing section). This is the 3rd time i am taking ielts and every time i flunk it by .5 marks, just in writing section. (need 7). Going through your blogs and videos has made me realize where i exactly went wrong in the writing section. I have access to all the video lessons you shared(even the paid ones) and now i feel much more confident and hope getting 7 in writing is going to be a cakewalk. :)

Posted by: Vinay | December 25, 2014 at 19:06

Thank you very much for sharing your own work. I have once again be convinced of the effectiveness of concise writing. This is essential to me, as I will need to retake a test very soon, for a 0.5 improvement on my writing - the first time I got a satisfied overall score of 7.5, with writing receiving a band score of just 6. :(

I'll follow the updates so please do keep going! :)

Posted by: Sherry | January 07, 2015 at 06:55

Happiness is something that's given by god to every being:-) so we should learn to take the maximum from it.

Posted by: sarithsa gunawardana | January 14, 2015 at 13:41

It is no doubt true that a considerable number of people would like to be happy in their lives. Although describing a happiness is considered to hard to explain, there are certain steps to take before lead to happiness for human beings.

Happiness is dificult to define because of its complex and difference meaning for every person. Some might find achieving success or earning money as a form of happiness while others might consider to being healthy or have a family as a definite meaning of happiness. There is a famous Indian idiom which says every finger of the hand are different, means every person has different feelings and special passions for themselves. Moreover, nobody can fully understand to anothers feelings or desires and this leads to avoid of giving spesific defines of happiness or what situation couldnt define as happiness.

Although telling a certain define of happiness is quite hard, there are some preconditions to take before fulfill to happiness. First of all, any person need to be in secure of find a safe place to live or enough food to eat. Our basic survival needs must surely be met before we can lead to pleasant. Secondly it is important to share experience with family or friends, therefore this cause the biggest joy in our life. Moreover, other key factors could be individual freedom or having a purpose in life.

In conclusion, even defining a happiness would be a hard exam to achive, we can surely say that there are some basic factors to experience happines in our lifes.

Posted by: Hashimi | May 08, 2015 at 16:39

YOU ROCK SIMON!HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO GET 9 BANDS?

Posted by: ayesha | May 28, 2015 at 12:56

ACTUALLY I STUDIED THAT PRESENT SIMPPLE IS USED WITH "TO"

Posted by: ayesha | May 28, 2015 at 13:19

Dear Simon, thank you for helping to improve our writing skills for task 2. I would be grateful if you could give my response a Band score (if you have time of course)!

Many people agree that happiness is an essential part of human life. I believe that there are many diverse aspects that underlie happiness, making it difficult to define. I also feel that a sense of long-lasting satisfaction is a vital factor when achieving happiness, as long as it does not result in harm.

One reason why it may be difficult to characterise happiness objectively is because there are many ways to attain happiness. For one person, happiness might mean achieving calm or bliss through spiritual practices; whereas for another, leading a life of materialism and fame may constitute happiness. Therefore, the meaning of happiness is a subjective matter that depends on the preferences held among different individuals.

In my opinion, a number of factors are essential in achieving happiness. The first is that measures to attain happiness should be relatively easy to undertake; or at least be worthwhile. For the average person, there is little sense in trying to become the most wealthy individual in the world, since this is an unrealistic aim. Secondly, happiness should result in a sense of long-lasting satisfaction. Finally, achieving happiness should ideally not be a harmful venture. For instance, several people derive great pleasure, or bliss, from consuming illicit drugs, alcohol or cigars; with detrimental consequences to their health. In the long run this constitutes the opposite to happiness: suffering and misery.

In conclusion, my viewpoint is that happiness cannot be defined easily as there are many ways of attaining this state. The most essential factors in obtaining happiness include: a sense of satisfaction, being relatively easy to achieve and not being harmful.

Posted by: Akash | June 01, 2015 at 19:34

splendid written with hrart very deeply i think it is very much true which i heard from my mom that line is eyes are not ment for tears heart is not met for fers smile and always cheers because your smile can make people smile for years

Posted by: vaishnavi | July 07, 2015 at 15:43

Can some one tell me the meaning of desperate faces?

Posted by: Zohaib | September 02, 2015 at 10:38

I want to practice(grpup study) with any person who is taking IELTS preparation now.My skype id is masakurcox81 and fb id is [email protected] ..

Posted by: Abdus Sakur | August 13, 2016 at 07:13

There are several reasons why it is not easy to define happiness. Firstly, happiness is an internal feeling and people have different definitions for it based on their own situations. For instance, for some people, money brings happiness, while for some others, having a decent job or a high salary is only a way of meeting some basic requirements that every human has. Secondly, in different societies, people define it differently. This can be associated with the cultural views that individuals in various countries have. For example, in my country, depending on the region one lives, the definition differs. If somebody lives in major cities, high education is very prestigious and those who are highly-educated are quiet happy. However, in small towns or villages, building a family and having kids or having a property like a big house is an enormous achievement and bring happiness to people’s life for people. Many factors including wealth, a high-income career, physical and mental health, beauty, a romantic relationship and a high university degree play important roles in obtaining happiness. But it is worth mentioning that the most important element is satisfaction. If a person has all of these factors and not yet contented with his or her valueslife, he or she will not be able to experience the feeling of pleasurehappiness. There are some people that are always complaining even if they have everything. In other words, in order to have a happy life, what really matters is the way that we see life. In fact, the sense of gratification can make us happy. In conclusion, it is true that happiness is a difficult conceptterm to be clearly defined, since people have different points of views about it. However, I believe that if we are satisfied with what we have, we can experience it.

Posted by: nina | August 24, 2016 at 19:34

Thanks for it

Posted by: Ali Cenah Karakol | September 15, 2016 at 22:09

the second question: In order to attain happiness, once the deficiency needs have been fulfilled then it will lead to a pleasure life. What really matter the most are no other than physiological needs: sufficient food, water and a permanent shelter in a safe environment with security since most dwellers hardly function optimally without these. Moreover, a life with an intimate bond, plenty of love and acceptance is also essential to motivate behavior through family and friends. Another important ones are independence, cognition and self-fulfillment to reach life expectations for a spectacular sense of satisfaction.

Posted by: Conan | December 13, 2018 at 01:05

The comments to this entry are closed.

Money is the most important factor for achieving happiness

• IELTS Writing Task 2

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people believe that money is the most important factor for achieving happiness. However, others believe that happiness has nothing to do with money.

Do you agree or disagree? Give your own opinion and examples.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer: Money is the most crucial matter in everyday life. To lead a comfortable life it is important to have money to pay for our food, house, education, and so on. It seems that many can bring everything we want, even happiness. But the connection between money and happiness is always one of the most delicate, most interesting, and most sensitive issues that has sparked a heated debate. Money can bring everything, yet nothing can be brought by it.

Money is the second god in this material world that you are endowed with everything by it. People who have enough money they may feel happier since they have no worry to be hungry, their children will go sophisticated schools, their diseases can be cured, they can maintain a cozy lifestyle without having tension about cash and their lives will be easy going. This seems simple equation. But things are not simple that reality says different things. In practical, rich people are always chasing for money and eventually they confine to an insatiable thrust for money. Consequently, they always keep themselves busy in making money resulting in scarcity of time.  They can give their children whatever they like, but they cannot spend a happy moment together with their family due to their busy schedule. Receiving gifts, the child may be happy, but at the same time, he still misses his beloved father. Money can buy many things, but the happiness from it is relative. Money will buy you a beautiful bungalow, nice bed, delicious food, and latest model car. What money will not buy you is sleep, authentic recreation, taste of food and so forth.

However, happiness is something different, something that comes from within you. It is a mental state of feeling content, fortunate and luck. Many things, in this world, can make you happy cost nothing. Friends and family, love affairs are all priceless. A very good example here is love. Love is one of those free objects in our lives that costs nothing but simply brings boundless happiness for us. I have been in a relationship for a year now and it has been the best experience of happiness that I have ever had. I would not trade the happiness for all the money in the world. Conversely, we eat together at restaurant, watch movies, and go for long drive for that need money. That is to say the time we spend together has cost. In this instance, money is not the condition of love but just makes things easy to happen. However, all that I want to contend that is happiness is the spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions. Without happiness in life, everything turns into worthless whether it is money or something else is more valuable than money.

To conclude, in today’s materialistic world we have need money to survive. But what we need to keep in mind that is we have many other important things to be achieved in accordance with money. To lead a happy life, one should combine the main things in one single life.

Many People think that More Money will Make them More Happier- IELTS Writing Task 2

Updated On Aug 14, 2024

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Table of Contents

Sample essay.

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Many people think that more money will make them happier. How important is money for happiness? Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Discussion Essay

Introduction

Sentences 1&2 – Paraphrase the topic with the use of synonyms to create an understanding of it.

Sentence 3 – Mention that money is not the only thing that can bring happiness to people’s lives.

Body Paragraphs

Paragraph 1 – Talk about how other things can bring happiness other than having a lot of money in their bank account.

Paragraph 2 – Talk about how money can be important for happiness.

Restate your views.

Many people say that money cannot buy happiness, and I believe it to be true. Not everything in the world can make one happy for a long time, including money. In contrast, some people have the perspective that money can bring more happiness in their essence of life. My take on this is that money is not the only thing that can make people happier, and the essay will explain why.

Having money indeed brings happiness to most people, but it does not mean that people without money are dispirited. For instance, social workers working in underdeveloped countries make a small amount of money. Still, the reward of happiness and the gratification they gain from helping people and doing the job they are good at is immeasurable. Moreover, the best things in life are mostly free. To name a few, happiness can be found in doing the job that you love, having supportive and loving people in one’s life, random acts of kindness from a stranger, having time to oneself, feeling the sun on one’s face, the clean feeling after a long shower, the thrill of personal achievement, et cetera. These things may sound trivial but is more valuable than any amount of money.

On the other hand, the comfort and grandeur that money can buy are also important. For example, if parents have enough money to provide the proper education for their children and fulfil their desired wants and needs, they undoubtedly would be more than happy and worry-free. The rich can also support more charity for the needy and poor to elevate their standard of living.

To conclude, people can be happy even if they have nickels and dimes to spend, and other things can play an essential role in bringing happiness. However, money fails to provide eternal joy and peace of mind.

• Perspective

Meaning – a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view. Example – Jefford’s perspective on the topic of ‘Nation and Nationalism’ was commendable.

Meaning – the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character. Example – Knowing natural rules brings the essence of life to another level.

Meaning – having lost enthusiasm and hope or disheartened. Example – Carol was dispirited right after she got scolded by her teacher in front of her batchmates.

• Underdeveloped

Meaning – not advanced economically. Example – The underdeveloped countries have come a long way in strengthening their economic and financial conditions.

• Gratification

Meaning – pleasure, especially when gained from the satisfaction of a desire. Example – In this materialistic world, one should seek gratification from within.

Meaning – a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure. Example – Ray feels the thrill everywhere – in nature, earth, stars, the whole universe.

Meaning – of little value or importance. Example – Lara tends to cry at anything trivial, but she feels better after it.

Meaning – splendour and impressiveness, especially of appearance or style. Example – My friend’s wedding was arranged with such grandeur that we were all in awe.

Meaning – the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need. Example – My mother usually says that charity begins at home.

• Nickel and dimes

Meaning – greedily or unfairly charge (someone) many small amounts for minor services. Example – Restaurants and cafes usually charge nickel and dimes on the face of service charge on the bill.

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer: Money is the most important factor for achieving happiness

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IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

Some people believe that money is the most important factor for achieving happiness. However, others believe that happiness has nothing to do with money.

Do you agree or disagree?

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

There is no doubt that being happy is one of people's primary goals in life. While some are convinced that money is the most significant element in reaching that goal, others feel that happiness is independent of one's financial situation.  This essay will shed some light on this issue and give a reasoned opinion.

Some people are of the view that money can buy happiness this is because today's society attributes much importance to material possessions for instance, owning a house or a car are now the symbol of success and happiness in the eyes of society.

Additionally, a financially well-off individual would not need to toil hard thus not experiencing any work-related anxieties. As a result, he will be able to spend much of his time doing things that bring him joy such as travelling and holidaying.

That said, I tend to agree with those who claim that happiness is not entirely dependent on one's financial situation. The reason being that happiness can even be achieved by people with very limited means. To illustrate, volunteer work results in people having a sense of purpose and value which ultimately brings them joy. In my opinion, money is but one of the many factors which contribute to a person's happiness. In other words, money allows an individual to satisfy his basic needs, failing which he would feel miserable.

In conclusion, whilst some are of the opinion that money is the most crucial factor in achieving happiness. I believe that there are some equally important elements which generate joy.

Total Words: 257

Task Achievement: 9

Coherence & cohesion: 9, lexical resources: 9, overall score: band 9, ielts score calculators and estimators:.

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IELTS Model Essay Score 9 for Direct Questions

This is an estimated band score 9 model for an IELTS writing task 2 direct questions essay. This model essay shows you how to answer each question directly and how to organise the answers into paragraphs.

The Direct Questions Essay is also known as the IELTS Double Question Essay because it usually has two questions. However, I prefer to called it a Direct Questions Essay because sometimes it is possible to be given three questions instead of two. Also, your task is to answer the direct questions which can be very varied in nature.

IELTS Model Essay Band 9

Some people think that money is one of the most essential factors in promoting happiness. Do you think people can be happy without much money? What other factors contribute towards happiness?

Money is considered by many people to be one of the most important contributing factors towards happiness. In my opinion, it is possible for people to be happy even if they have little money and other aspects of life can play a more vital role in creating happiness than wealth alone.

Although money allows people to afford luxuries and treats, which certainly do bring temporary enjoyment and satisfaction, a substantial number of people are happy without money. Firstly, money is no guarantee of happiness, particularly if disease or disaster feature largely in someone’s life. Secondly, as long as people have the money to cover their necessities, doing without luxury items does not negatively affect the pleasures that a good life can bring.

Another way people can gain satisfaction in their life is through their work rather than money. For instance, a doctor doing volunteer service overseas in underdeveloped countries may earn little or no money, but the reward of doing such work is profoundly rewarding. Not only that but it can be a long-term fulfilment that they carry with them through life in the form of rich memories and the knowledge of a life well-lived.

Finally, another influencing factor of contentment in life is having supportive and loving people in one’s life.  While money may bring opportunities to enjoy pleasures, few people would enjoy them in isolation. Being surrounded by a loving and caring family is considered by many people to be the most valuable thing in life. This is one aspect of life that money certainly cannot buy. 

In conclusion, money is not essential for happiness, which can be found through job satisfaction as well as family. If more people strived in life towards true happiness rather than money, the world would be a better place.

Examiner Comments: The task given was to answer two questions. The writer answered both questions with relevant main points that were well-developed. The main points were each sufficiently developed for a high score and organised into logical paragraphs with clear signposting. The use of three body paragraphs is not so common in IELTS writing task 2 with most people choosing an essay of only two body paragraphs. However, three body paragraphs does allow for enough developed of main points for a high score. The use of linking devices is skilfully managed. Vocabulary is flexible with less common expressions. Grammar is complex and widely varied with only an odd slip, but not obvious errors.

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It is thought by some that money is one major contributing factor to happiness. While a variety of reasons may lead to this, I believe it is possible for people to be happy even if they do not have much money.

One the one hand, many people are content with what they have and they do not need to be rich in order to be happy. Once they can meet their basic needs and afford certain necessities of life such as food, clothes and shelter they are good to go. Furthermore, living a luxurious life do not guarantee happiness as many people find fulfillment and satisfaction once they are able to provide for their family and also putting smiles on the faces of their loved ones gives them enough satisfaction.

On the other hand, there are a number of factors that can bring happiness to an individual. Firstly, the ability to follow one’s passion can bring satisfaction to the individual. For example, the passion to become an athlete and win an olympic medal can bring a lot of happiness if that passion is fulfilled. Secondly, making impact in people’s lives can bring joy to an individual. For instance, an individual making impact in society by building schools and providing basic needs in order to make people’s life better can bring satisfaction and happiness to oneself.

In conclusion, contentment can bring fulfillment to an individual and factors such as pursuing one’s passion and making impact to society can go a long way to make one happy.

The aim of my website isn’t to provide feedback for writing, but I will give you a quick comment. This is a very short essay. It is advisable that you aim for 270 to 290 words if you wish for a high score. Also, this essay is about whether money brings happiness. Although you don’t agree and do offer suggestions for other things that bring happiness, your essay must address money as a source of happiness. If you agree money brings happiness, your whole essay would explain why. If you don’t agree money brings happiness, you would explain in a body paragraph why it doesn’t and then give other factors that do. However, nowhere in your body paragraphs do you address and explain your opinion about money bringing happiness. This will lead to a low score for Task Response. Address money directly – be specific and be very clear.

Based on some views, money is considered as one of the mandatory elements of being happy. However, I think that people can spend happy lives without a lot of money if they can satisfy with what they have. Rather than wealth, people who have stress-free jobs and loving family members are very much satisfied with their lives.

Even without considerable wealth, people can be happy if they are self-satisfied. When people do not try to compete with others or imitate others, they have very limited needs in their lives. Most people are rich enough to satisfy those needs. Hence, they can enjoy their time spending money for their pastimes because they do not have loans and complex expenditures. For instance, in Sri Lanka, a law paying security guard won the award of “happiest man in the Island” in 2021 in a contest.

There are some other factors that make people happy, such as doing a less stressful profession. If the work pressure is minimum at a workplace, employees can spend joyful time with their peers during their work shifts. Moreover, strong relationships between family members immensely help people to spend happy lives. When someone return home from the office, loving welcome of spouse and children refresh the mind of that person, and it makes the person very happy. If they share their feeling and cuddle with him, no any financial struggle can make him dissatisfies. For example, Dr. Jayan Mendis who is a top tier psychologist in Sri Lanka told that the satisfaction of family life is the most essential filler of a happy life.

In conclusion, although some people think that money is a very important factor of a happy life, I believe that regardless of more money, satisfaction with own earnings leads to happiness. Furthermore, people with low-pressure professions live happily at their offices while members of loving families also stay happy.

Money is considered one of the significant factors of feeling happiness. Some people think they can experience happiness without money. Money contributes the happiness when it can help with our basic needs. But when it reaches a certain level, it will no longer to bring more happiness. However, people can experience happiness in other ways. Firstly, money is essential to our basic needs, it is not everything. There are things that money can not buy, like our family and friends. We often ignore the simple things in our lives that can make us feel happy. It does not depend on our financial situation. For example, people who live in developing countries. They have poor finances but they can also experience the happiness of having a simple life. One of the factors that they can experience happiness is because the people who live in developing countries are more willing to give others help. Their happiness is based on other happiness. Another factor in experiencing happiness is our sense of achievement. Gaining a sense of achievement and feeling proud of the work can make people feel happy. Self-accomplishment can bring satisfaction. The sense of achievement can not be bought by money. For example, when the player breaks their own record it can bring them a sense of achievement. People can experience happiness based on their skills. In conclusion, it is true that money can not buy happiness. But it is not essential for happiness. We don’t need money to achieve happiness. We should take care of ourselves and experience more things in life. These experiences can lead us to have a more enjoyable life.

Money is thought to be one of the most important reasons to contribute to happiness. While I agree to this in some extent, in my opinion, there are other equally valuable things in life. It is said that ‘money rules the world’, and it’s quite true. Most problems in life can indeed be solved with money. This is especially true in the case of developing countries, where even basic necessities like health, education, etc. are not for free. For example, when the only earning member of a low-income household falls sick or gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, they go through a huge financial burden. This also directly contributes to their unhappiness. In such situations, having money could help in opening different avenues and gaining opportunities that could help in their overall betterment and improved life status. While money is essential to life and could also help in improving different aspects of one’s life, it has to be appreciated that happiness is, but a state of mind. And having money alone cannot guarantee happiness. There are other things to life like love, having close bonds with family/friends, a healthy life and mental well-being, among other things. Hence, I feel, money is indeed essential and helps in improving one’s life and eventually leading to happiness. Yet, there’s more to life than just money, like love and good physical, as well as, mental health.

Hello, Liz. There is something about the causes-solution that is confusing for me. I am mentioning this here because I could not find a model solutions essay on the website. Taking the topic “As the result of tourism and the increasing number of people travelling, there is an growing demand for more flights. What problem does this have on the environment? What measures could be taken to solve the problems?” as an example, will the format of the introduction go like this: paraphrase + brief answer to qs 1 (xyz and cause problems such as ‘abc’ and ‘def’) + brief answer to qs 2 (There are many solutions that can be considered)

The background statement is the same as usual. However, putting too much detail into the thesis statement makes it too long. And using a generic statement without any specific information at all is too vague. You need something between. You can state the two actual causes in the thesis and also briefly state “there are possible solutions” without giving details. So, yes, your thinking is correct. At the end of the day, IELTS is about being logical.

That has cleared my mind. Thank you so much! And thank you for always replying 😀 Wishing you the best, and praying for your health.

Trust you are doing fine, how is your health, I really wish you could do another video. If its possible to have a virtual session with you on just checking up on you, it would be fine.

I find myself writing around 400 words. Is it a concern, or I should work towards a range of 250-300.

See example of my write up on the topic on happiness

Happiness is a state of mind that encompasses a good wellbeing, and a convenient mental state filled with joy, and much euphoria of gladness. Money is not necessarily a pointer for happiness, but is also a necessity to lead to happy life.

First and foremost, happiness often come when we achieve certain goal or objectives. For example, one could make a decision to graduate from an MBA course which of course would impact his career. Graduating from the MBA could bring much more happiness that having money as this is what the individual is passionate about. When purpose is met, and a certain goal is achieved, happiness is triggered, and of course makes one joyful.

Secondly, people chose happiness when they travel for tourism or meet people from another culture. For example, when I visited the northern part of my country, I had little money on me, but I was so excited that I was seeing people of different culture, tribe, race, and different background. My participation in their most interesting Banku Dance was a joy for me, and I was so glad about it, as I had always dreamt of learning the Banku Dance, and following the Banku culture. Hence this gives me joy.

Moreover, there are a lot of people who have money but they obtained it illegally. This could be money gotten through selling of hard drugs, guns and ammunitions, child trafficking, sex slaves, and bribery for illegal and over estimated government contracts. Of course, these individuals may feel they have a large amount of money to a certain degree, but they may not necessarily be happy, as they would always try to cover up their illegal scheme, and of course when the arms of the law catches up with them, the money made would be taken back, and they would be imprisoned ultimately leading to more sorrow.

However, despite being happy by achieving a particular goal or objectives, career advancement, or socio cultural engagements with other culture and languages, money is still an important factor as these things would need to be paid for before they are achieved.

In conclusion, happiness is not necessarily hinged on having money, as people from low income country who engage in local trades, and carry out certain ambitious projects are always happy when fulfilled, and they glow in admiration of joy, while certain individuals with large money gotten from illegal source may not find happiness as they must keep on covering their tracks. But in all money is still needed to achieve certain objectives or fulfilment that would also lead to happiness.

It is certainly an issue to be writing 400 words for task 2 writing. IELTS essays are designed to be highly focuses, relevant with each sentence being 100% critical to the essay. They are designed to be written in under 200 words. This mean you will produce about 13-15 sentences in total (this is not a rule, it is what is usual), all of which you need to be completely accurate and highly focused. What I see from your essay is that you haven’t learned how to write an essay for this particular test. IELTS have set requirements and you need to understand them. Those requirements will shape your essay. I suggest you get my advanced lessons to learn how to write an essay for this test: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ . For example, you will lose points for having one body paragraph less developed than another – this is because it is about band score requirements. That is just one example of how not understanding IELTS will cause you to get a lower score. There are many other points to consider in writing an IELTS essay.

Money is an important contributor in ones happiness. In my opinion, money is just one factor to happiness and other contributors to happiness are relationships and passion.

Financial abundance is a part of the pie in achieving happiness. Some unfortunate people, who doesn’t have a stable source of income, still manage to be happy when they meet and laugh with friends. Moreover, they could keep a positive outlook when they help people at work as it gives then a sense of purpose. Despite being poor, one can still enjoy life.

One factor that contributes to happiness is valuable relationship. Family time such as eating together home cooked meals rather than at a fast food restaurant allows time to share stories and to feel connected. Relating to loved ones makes one feel listened to and cared for.

Another influencer to happiness is passion for work. At work, such as when helping customers or improving productivity at work by learning a new skill, an excitement is formed inside that helps you carry out throughout the day. Although work can be challenging, if a person finds passion in it, a sense of fulfillment can be gained anytime.

In conclusion, I think people can be happy without much money and this can be achieved through valuable relationships and passion in working.

Recently, money has become almost everything for some. Even a group of people see money as a privileged term, thus they consider it as the most permanent and valuable source of happiness. To me, the amount of money is not an indicator of happiness, meaning less money does not prevent an individual from being content, moreover, there are other factors providing people to be happy as well as money like the satisfaction of work and people who support you all around you. To begin with the way how does the amount of money affect people, it simply is not as a big deal as it is generally thought. It is owing to the fact that the term money is nothing but a tool we use universally for putting a price on the products. There is only one thing money can not buy, though, happiness and even this explains that the terms money and happiness are separate things and one can be happy without it. Furthermore, I believe the more money a person has, the less happy he/she is when thinking the fact that rich people consider money to be the key to everything, thus fail to handle a problem and start complaining when facing a problem while least rich people directly focus on the possible solutions. To continue with different factors for happiness, job satisfaction comes first as the atmosphere and also the circumstances you work under matter the emotions and consequently the productivity the most. The second factor is as important as satisfaction, which is the presence of people you love and their encouragement around you. Think about Icardi who refused to be transferred from his current football team even after being offered four times more price from another team for instance. To conclude, money is not an indicator of how happy a person is, and there are still more valuable factors than that such as job satisfaction and supporting people. As a result, we should be aware of the reality that happiness is priceless.

Hello Liz, thank you very much for your help. It is very appreciated. I am taking a test soon and I need a minimum of Band 8? Would this essay be good enough? What are your suggestions? Your help will be greatly appreciated, Sincerely Katarina

Many people, mainly elderly, would never miss the evening news. Not only them but also many other adults want to know what is going on in the world. Way too many people are obsessed with news that are bringing raw facts that are important rather than something good, and there would be even more people watching if it did bring joy into their lives.

Understandably, adults need to know what is going on in their town or state before it is too late. News brings a lot of important information from the first hand that is usually important for most citizens. For example, news will alert people about water or electricity shortages, growing interest rates, a criminal that escaped from prison or about a lost child. All of this information is essential for different people. For example, an electricity shortage is targeted to everyone, and some people are able to spend time out of town to wait out the shortage. Growing interest rates are mainly important for people who were thinking about taking a mortgage. Thanks to knowing this ahead of time, they can plan accordingly. Different types of news effects multiple groups of people in many ways. Therefore, news is crucial for most of the population that is 18 and older.

News can be very useful in long term run, however, it can ruin one’s night. Unfortunately, most of the news is targeting the negativity. This is because people consider the bad news more important because they want to be aware and ready. It is easy to understand that people want to know about a snowstorm that will block the roads so that they can get extra groceries or buy special supplements for their pets or livestock and make a plan for what else can go wrong.

Despite the fact that most of the news is negative reporting car accidents, robberies, tragedies and so on, people still choose to watch it. I think that if there were more positive things on the news, people would enjoy watching news and would not watch it because they feel like they need. News could even be a family time and a topic in family discussion if they were more focused on things that make the viewer feel good about the world around them. For example, news should help local farmers and advertise their products while giving a little background about their farm. This would tempt families to buy farm fresh products that are better for them while making a family educational trip to the farm.

In conclusion, news brings useful information to people that is not always pleasant, but could also bring in more positive news. News helps billions of people every day and most of them cannot imagine their life without it. I believe that bad news cannot be left out, but I also think that it should be balanced with good news which would let the viewer enjoy it.

I generally don’t give feedback as it isn’t possible to reply to so many people who post their essays. But I will make a few comments. IELTS is a timed test. You have only 1 hour to complete a report and an essay. It is recommended to spend 40 mins on the essay and just 20 mins on task 1. Did you spend only 40 mins on this? You’ve written almost 500 words. Your aim is to write between 270-290 words for task 2. More is not better. IELTS essays have specific requirements for each band score. As you haven’t included the essay question, I can’t comment on Task Response. But I can see you are not trained in IELTS essay writing. I suggest you get my advanced lessons and learn the right way how to tackle an IELTS essay. Here’s a link to my online store with advanced video lessons: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

hello ma’am I wanted to ask about “Direct Questions” task 2 category. my teacher told that I cannot write “in my opinion ” in the introduction paragraph. but I still convinced myself to write it after giving background information/ paraphrasing of Question. is it wrong to do in this way?

the essay topic was ” learning English at school is often seen as more important than learning local languages. If these are not taught, many are at risk of dying out In your opinion is it important for everyone to learn English? Should we try to ensure this survival of local languages and if so how?

As you see the question actually asks for your opinion. If you fail to give your opinion when asked, you will get a lower score. Some questions just write “Do you think this is a good thing? What are the problems with it” and even with these questions, the instructions are asking for your opinion. When it asks you to evaluate or speculate, it is asking for an opinion. When you give your opinion, you must make it very very clear – In my opinion OR I believe OR I think that

Can money buy happiness? It is thought by some people that money is one the most important aspects in order to gain happiness. In my opinion people still be happy with having a little money. Love and working in your dream job are some of the factors the give happiness to one’s life. Although some people felt happy in their life’s by making more money, it does not mean others are not happy with a little money. In other words, money is not the only factor to be happy, for instance, people who live in the countryside making less money than who live in the city, but they feel more happier than the one in the city. due to strong relationship with their families and spending more time in natural. Love is one of the ways to be happy in life, what I mean by love is to have a support family and good relationship with friends. for example, a worm text from close friend, a call from family member to check up on you, and a hug from a partner in the morning are more sufficient to bring all the happiness in the world. another factor to bring happiness to people’s life is through their dream job, take a firefighter as an example, who safe lives every single day and getting nothing in return but the amazing satisfaction feeling what he has accomplished. Helping people and doing the job that you are good at are priceless and give the best feeling ever. In conclusion, happiness can be gain by small things like love, caring and being in your dream job, furthermore money might give some people happiness, but it is not essential to be happy in life.

It’s considered by many people that money is one of the most important contributing factors in creating happiness. In my opinion, it’s even possible for people to be happy with a little amount of money and other factors of life can play a vital role in promoting happiness.

Although, having many may bring happiness to some people, it doesn’t necessarily mean that people without money are , therefore, unhappy. Take for example the comparison between developed and underdeveloped countries, most westerners would argue that people in underdeveloped countries are happier, enjoy a stronger family relationship and take more pleasure in the simplicities of life than those who settle in the developed countries.

To begin with, one of the ways that happiness can be gained by people is through their work, for instance, a doctor doing a volunteer work in an underdeveloped countries may have little money but the reward which is gotten in helping people is itself brings happiness. In other words, happiness can be achieved through the skills that people were trained for and through job satisfaction.

Additionally, another reason which promotes happiness is to have supportive and strong family relationships. Being surrounded by a loving and caring family is considered by the majority of people to be more valuable than having any amount of money.

In conclusion, money isn’t essential for gaining happiness, which can instead be found through job satisfaction as well as a strong family relationship. If more people strived towards true happiness rather than collecting money, this world would be a better place to live.

Many people identify money as one of the crucial factors towards happiness. From my personal view, even though money has its importance, it is still possible to live a happy life without much money. Additionally, other aspects of life can play a vital role in creating happiness. Firstly, money undoubtedly makes many people happy, mostly owing to providing material objects of desire and simply new abilities in life. However, many factors, such as family bonds, career achievements and positive mindfulness, are capable of giving people joy and happiness without the help of money. For instance, nowadays individuals can live a happy life without a lot of money, simply by enjoying their family time and spending time with positive people. Moreover, the fact that money brings happiness to many people, does not necessarily reflect that people without much money are, thus, unhappy. Take for example comparison of situations in developing and developed countries. Most Westerners would agree that people in developing countries are living a happy life, being satisfied by family connections and enjoying the simplicity of life to a greater extent, than those in developed countries. Finally, the other factor to consider is the person`s surroundings. If a person is surrounded by people who only value material achievements in life, the person will soon find himself thriving through difficulties just to fulfill his goal to make more money. In contrast, positive people with great respect for one another make others around them only become better people and take a look at life from a different perspective. To conclude, money has an important role in our life, however, it is still possible to live a happy life without a big amount of money. Therefore, money is not essential for happiness and can be replaced by strengthening family bonds or professional improvement.

Could you please evaluate mine. Thank you in advance.

In this day and age, many people believe that money is the key of happiness. In my opinion, I agree that we need money to be happy. It is hard for people to reach happiness in their life if they don’t have enough money to support their lifestyle and basic needs. In addition, I think other factor that is important to achieve happiness is family members.

Firstly, the world has become into a place where money is everything. Basically no one can’t live without money in this modern world. Even tough it is true that money does not equal happiness, however everyone need money to cover their basic needs in sufficient way to reach well-being. It is almost impossible to be happy but in the same time lack of everything that we need to live our life. For instance, everyone needs money to pay their rents, daily grocery items and even for a small necessity like toilet services require us to pay with money. So, money is a foundation of our life, we need it to experience happiness.

Secondly, other key to support happiness is family members. They are the one who will give support whenever we need helps. The fact that human is a social creature, which mean we cannot live alone without other presences and family members are likely to help us if we are in trouble financially or if we just need companion. For example, most children will help their parents when they get older and need a companion and supports.

In conclusion, money is one of the keys to reach happiness. Without money, we cannot live properly in this world because we need it to cover our daily basic needs. However, it is true that money is not the only one factor to experience happiness, family members is also an important factor to help us to get out of trouble in life and be happy.

I like that this eassy is of a different opinion and well constructed as well..

It is believed that the only source of happiness can be brought by financial achievements, however, I resent partially and concur with the notion that there are multiple agendas that can bring happiness in one’s life. This essay shall substantiate where and not money is imperative with other factors that can bring joy with relevant examples.

Examining the former opinion, the primary argument the supporters would put forward is that without money, nothing is possible. This is true in many cases such as in fulfilling the daily needs and wants and frequent expensive activities that can buy happiness for a specific period of time. In the era of materialism, where the status of a person is judged by the things they own, money plays quite a significant role especially for those who are rich and young. Perhaps, for a few, money is the solution to all the issues in their life.

On the flip side, when a reporter asked Lewis Hamilton, the F1 racing world champion, about his source of happiness; he instantly vouched that money does not buy happiness to him but the people who support him. In today’s time, inner peace has become crucial than monetary possessions. For many people, today, having a soulful life without negativity is rather more important than the other aspects of life. Hence, not everyone desires to be rich, some people enjoy fame, support, and peace as well.

To add to this, there are dozens of different sources of happiness. A person can find joy at any point if he or she wants to be happy. Happiness is all about how one perceives life. Mother Teresa, for instance, served her entire life in helping underprivileged children and women and never was found sad. Therefore, happiness can be found in various kinds of activities and places.

To conclude, it is true that money is important for survival and enjoyment. However, happiness has no exact price and can not be traded. The world would be a better place if people stopped relating happiness with money.

Hii Liz, I am confused with the question…if my opinion on this answer is “yes money is an important factor for happiness” then how would I justify the second part of the question i.e “what are the other factors for happiness” as I m already saying in the first part that money is the important factor for happiness…plz let me know

You are saying it is an important factor, not it is the only factor. The word “important” does not exclude any other factor. The word “only” excludes all other factors.

In the first model essay, I could see repetition for some words like money(6 times), happiness(5 times), people(9 times). Could you please confirm whether it is acceptable. Because I heard that repetition of words can reduce points.

Thanks, Hanna

Some words will be repeated. You can’t avoid some repetition. For IELTS, you need to show the skill of paraphrasing which can be with words that you choose. Not all words can or should be changed. Be selective.

Although, it is widely believed that monetary possessions directly relates to the degree of happiness among the masses, I firmly believe, that the other factors in life like trust, compassion, and team spirit equally contribute to an overall happiness quotient of an individual.

Admittedly, money brings much confidence and luxury in life. Rich people can pay family bills easily, stay unperturbed about any future medical expenses by the family members. Moreover, they don’t have to worry about savings for retirement anymore and hence might claim to enjoy a comparatively peaceful life. In addition, many people flock to such rich people for friendships or parties as they become famous for their ability to chase the fast fashion.

Despite the power of wealth, firstly, the basic humane qualities that we build through years of consistent trust, compassion and personal bonding remains critical for personal relationships as well as, are instrumental at workplace. Additionally, a friend that people earn through their personal qualities can bring much more happiness when faced with difficulties in life as they are always there to confide with. Similarly, team spirit at work can make an workers life very easy when faced with real time challenges. Lastly, company of characterless people are useless at times of needs, when they often cheat their spouses, dupe friends and show their back during crisis.

In conclusion, monetary possessions can definitely bring a smile on your face, but it is quite fleeting. On the other hand, personal qualities can unconditionally bring an overall peace and joy for life.

Please help to evaluate this essay ,i took tips from your post Many people consider that money is one of the most crucial elements and a key contributor to attaining happiness. In my opinion, it is possible for people to be happy with little money, and other aspects playing a pivotal role in creating happiness. Although having money brings happiness to a lot of people, it does not necessarily follow that people without money are, therefore, unhappy. Take for example the comparison between developing and developed nations, most Westerners would agree that the people in developing countries are happier, enjoy stronger family bonds and discover pleasure in the simplicities of life to a greater extent than those in developed nations. There are several other crucial elements that can bring immense joy to people’s life. One such factor of paramount importance is love and support of family and friends, who stand by our side in all ups and downs of life. They are the real treasure of one’s life to gauge happiness, as we create lifetime moments with them while progressing through different phases of life, celebrating our successes as well as failures. Admittedly, money may bring opportunities to enjoy pleasures, few people would enjoy them on their own. Thus, being surrounded by a loving family is considered by most people to be more valuable than any amount of money.

Finally, another factor influencing happiness is joy gained through work. Many people are thoroughly content with respect and self -satisfaction they get from their jobs. For instance, a doctor doing volunteer work in rural areas may not be the most wealthy person in the medical practitioner community, but respect, and blessings he gains by treating poor and needy is far more rewarding than money. In other words, happiness can found by using skills that people are trained for and through job satisfaction.

To conclude, money is not the only source of happiness in people’s lives, the love and warmth from friends and family members and delight one acquires from a job can make people immensely happy. If more people strived in life towards true happiness rather than money, the world would be a better place.

Dear Liz, thank you for your great videos Do you have any videos on the topic of cause/solution and direct question essays?? Thankyou

Not at the moment. I hope to make them next year 🙂

i am appearing for GT test on 17 aug . please check my essay and rate to know where i stand. also recommend basic things that could be improved after observing my essay.

It is good to have money and things money can buy. Some people think that financial wealth holds a significant role in happiness. As far as i am concerned, I feel, people can live a happy life even without much money they derive their happiness from other aspects of life rather than just money. Many others factors for instance family,following your passion and a good healthy lifestyle can add to a persons happiness.

Needless to say, money is important to buy basic necessities of life and to rear oneself and their family. It would not be right to say, having too much money is a definite path to joy. Even rich people suffers from depression and anxiety and have many other problems in life. People can be happy in limited amount of money by setting up a limit to their expenses and expectation. As amount of money earned is never enough so, no one can define the amount of money required for happiness. Peoples interest in their work and lifestyle keeps them happy. For instance, a person earning millions per month may not be satisfied with the work he does and a person ,on the other hand, earning less but enjoying the work he does maybe more happier.

Many other factors play significance role in happiness of a person for instance a loving and understanding partner in life plays a very crucial role in happiness of a person. Friends indeed are also important in life to share and build memories of life. Love and care from parents are always necessary as that is the only unconditional love a person experience through out his life.

Would like to sum up, by saying, money definitely is important to survive, to buy essential things and live a good life style but having a huge bank balance is not a perfect road to happiness . Happiness is a state of mind with derived from elements such as love, family ,good health and money.

Mam, I attempted IELTS exam yesterday.

I am little bit confused with this question. Would like to know what type of question is this . Two way question or opinion question?

Ordinary people copy famous people that are in magazine’s and TV. Why is it happening? Do you think this a good idea?

Thanks for sharing 🙂 There are many questions that are not “Opinion Essays” which means they do not say “Do you agree or disagree”, but they still require your opinion. For example “Discuss both sides and give your opinion” is categorised by many teachers as a Discussion Essay, but it still requires you to give an opinion. You were given a “Two Question Essay” or a “Direct Questions Essay”. Please remember that IELTS do not categorised essays – teachers do. So, teachers might have different names for different essays. You were required to give the causes for one question and then to present your opinion about whether it is good or bad for the other question. Just follow the instructions and you can’t go wrong.

This is really very helpful. Thanks mam

Hey Liz, Thank you very much for your articles, would you mind to check about this one? Does finance can replace the word money?

This is considered by some people that one of the most main elements of achieving happiness is finance, however, in my opinion, I believe that individuals can get totally happy regardless of being rich.

People can be happy without being rich, in other words, the happy feeling comes from different reasons which are not related with having money, for instance, I am a junior graphic designer, who earn a basic salary, and there is almost no money in my bank account, sometimes I got struggle financially because I can not afford my travel fees, but I still enjoy my life, I love my work and the other goals I have achieved, even when I making food or hold a cup of hot chocolate can totally make me happy and satisfy. People can be happy not only because of financial satisfy, but there are also always other elements for people to gain happiness

Individuals also achieve happiness through achievements, job satisfaction, doing sports, or even breath fresh air. A Havard report says that the people who enjoy doing exercise by sports or join into gym are feeling happier than the people who never do any physical exercise, however, doing exercise by playing sports or join in a gym has no relationship with having money, a middle school student can totally achieve this happiness without spending a dollar. A newspaper also mentions that job satisfaction is one of the main factors which contributes towards happiness, indeed, people who gain achievements through overcome job tasks can also achieve happiness.

In conclusion, for some people, money is truly one of the keys that makes people happy, however, happy people like me who is poor but still enjoy life through other things. Excepted having money, there are vast elements that can let people feel happy which are job satisfaction, fine family environment, doing a different kind of sports, cooking, and many other factors.

Hello Liz, Is it compulsory that in Direct Question also known as 2 question essay to have minimum 2 questions asked? OR is it possible to only have one? I searched on net and get this question as a Direct Question Parents put a lot of pressure on children to succeed. Do you think this is a good or bad thing? I personally feel that its an opinion essay but got confused now? Please reply as soon as possible I really really need your help as my IELTS is on 27 April

Direct questions essay could be one, two or even three questions. That question you have stated above will require an opinion as a response.

some people think certain prisoners should be made to do unpaid community work instead of being put behind bars. to what extent do you agree?

the instruction is, to what extent do you agree ,however i want to disagree.Can i allow to do this ? please guide mam

If you disagree, it means you do not agree that prisoners should do unpaid community work instead of a prison sentence. Your essay will then explain that view in full.

Government promises continuous economic growth, but its actually an illusion. Some people think that governments should abandon this. please talk about the validity and the implications.

Could you please help me with some ideas with this topic of essay.

Is this an authentic IELTS essay? Did you get it from one of the IELTS Cambridge test books which contain real IELTS essay questions?

Hello Liz, Thanks for the wonderful website,all the information is very helpful.I just have a question on the first line of the model essay. The first line of model essay has word many people where as the question has some people. Can some people be paraphrased as many people ? Can it be paraphrased as few people ? Thanks Kamal

The word “few” people means a very small number of people. It is completely inappropriate to use.

Hi liz, thank you so much for this. It has really put things in perspective Would it be okay to start with something like- “It is a commonly held opinion that money is crucial for happiness. In my opinion, a poorer person can be happier than a wealthy one. There are also various other factors that can bring happiness to people” also is it okay to include sayings like “money is the root of all evil” to stress on how money would not bring happiness to some??

Do not learn phrases. Each sentence should be created uniquely by yourself.

why do you always deter others from learning the sentences other than yours? Learning to use sentences from your model answers is acceptable while from other sources are not and so-called “memorizing”. For a foreigner who wanna make their english more native, coping and imitating is the first step because they don’t have any own languages that are shining enough to get a decent score.

IT is fine to use ideas and learn vocabulary, but everything you write must be your own way. This is a language test and you are being scored on your ability to create sentences of your own. You should not memorise my sentences or anyone else’s sentences.

Got it, many thanks Liz.

Hi Liz, Is it okay to provide examples for both BP1 and BP2?I am a little bit confused because I had attended an IELTS Writing class. The trainer said we can only give one example for the whole writing 2 essay. Is she correct or is it possible to have an example for both BP! and BP2?Please enlighten me on this. Thank you, Rose

There is no such rule in IELTS. Absolutely no such rule at all. I would limit examples to one per body paragraph – not because it is a rule, but because that is sensible. You can have a maximum of three body paragraphs – again, not as a rule, but as a sensible way to meet the requirements of the higher band scores.

thank you for helping us. i have query is 3 body paragraph necessary to obtain high band score and do we need to incorporate in all the essay type to score high band.

It is possible to have two or three body paragraphs. Your paragraph structure is just one part of the marking criterion of Coherence and Cohesion. Read the HOME page to learn how to access all my free lessons and tips.

Thank You Liz for your wonderful teachings here. They are very resourceful. I have been trying to develop ideas on why government should continue to fund arts. I don’t have strong points here. Please can you be of help?

Art is part of cultural identity. It is how a country expresses itself and can also reflect the history of the country as well. Art from World War I is often analysed because it shows the painters experience of the war. Art is also a skill that should be respected and supported. Art galleries attract tourists and add to the tourist trade which in turn boosts economy. Just take a look online – google the pros and cons of supporting the arts. Please note the different between art and the arts.

money is not important factor of life. it donot give happiness to masses. i thing that individuals can live a better life by job satisfaction and helping people in society.

Firstly, there are two type of countries developing and developed countries. People in developing nations have more happier life than masses in developed terrotries . they live a happier life as they has time to spend with families and their children.

Secondly, take a example of a doctor in a developing country, even he earn less money but he is happy because he is fully satisfy with his job and helping other people in amount of money. Means money has nothing in making one fully happy and satisfy . Having a satisfaction with jab one should happy with a small amount of money.

Finally, in thinking of some people money is everything but having a lovely surrounding one is fully happy in life. Like if one is surrounded with love of family and friends, he will get all the happiness of world.

In conclusion, money is not a important part of life. Satisfaction with job and a small earning makes one happy and a good standard life without any luxury products.

dear liz, m juz confused to take a difference from both ‘opinion essay & direct question essay’,,, as u hv given both of them here under the heading of Direct question type, could u plz elaborate?, thnx!

You need to understand that it is teachers who divide the essays into different types. It is a way of teaching. Some direct questions require opinions, some do not. All you need to do is answer the direct question(s) given. For example: Why is happiness different for different people? What factors contribute toward happiness? This is a direct question essay with two questions to answer. An opinion essay is an essay that only asks “Do you agree or disagree” / “To what extent do you agree or disagree”. But always remember, your aim is just to follow instructions. Each teacher teaches the essays differently and divides the essay types differently.

Hi Liz, I noticed you’ve used “having” a few times in this essay. There are certain words that I use involuntarily in my sentences. Like, “kind of, involves, constant”. Would multiple use of such words affect my score? I have my IELTS LRW tomorrow 🙂 Thank you Liz.

Paraphrasing does not mean changing words all the time. Paraphrasing means deciding when to keep words the same and when to change them. Not all words need to be changed.

Can you let me know what type of essay question is this.

There is a problem today that copyright materials such as music, films and books are available on the internet with the result the owners of the works lose money.Do you feel that this is a good or bad thing?

It is a direct question essay that requires you to present your opinion. Your whole essay will explain if you think it is good or bad.

Hi liz, I’m so glad that I’ve found your website.How many kinds of essays are in the academic IELTS? Please reply<3<3<3

You can see sample questions for each type on this page: https://ieltsliz.com/100-ielts-essay-questions/

Hello Liz! I have given IELTS thrice . I have been able to score 8 in speaking , reading and listening. But, my score in writing has been 6.5 consistently. I have tried my best to give examples and improve vocabulary. I have analysed myself, could it be because of writing task 1 ? Because I did not make comparisons. Please advice as it has become frustrating for me.

Giving examples will not increase your score in writing task 2 – examples are optional. I suggest you get my advanced lessons to learn more about the right techniques to use for task 2: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/ . Task 1 is only worth 33%. So, certainly you should review it and avoid problems, but the biggest issue will be your task 2.

Hi Liz Thanks for your kind efforts. First of all, I have to say this essay is awesome due to the rich ideas you presented. I have a question. In Thesis statement we always mention three points which are connecting to question, using for example I my opinion and more importantly our opinion. why did not say your opinion in the thesis statement? you just implied that there are other aspects.

Don’t make your thesis too long. Your thesis contains the answer and the body paragraphs contain the details. However, there is no right and wrong. If you do add a bit of detail to your thesis it is ok.

Hello Liz, Sometimes the IELTS task 2 questions consist of about 3 questions. In this case, I donnot know which one to start first, structure, places of them in bodies and so on. Could please make it easy for me? Thanks in advance.

You follow a logical order and answer each question in one body paragraph. Keep organisation simple and language complex.

My name is Jose and I took the IELTS test examination 3 times. My results in writing were as follow 6,6.5, and 6. I was quite shock when I got my last result, as for my third attempt I studied harder and I knew more vocabulary. As result, I checked the IELTS criteria and I found out for the first time that I was not using complex and compound sentences in my essays! I believe other students are making the same mistakes as well. Many people on the internet advice to check old essays in order to imitate them. However, if you do not know the theory behind each sentence construction, it is very hard to imbibe the knowledge. It would be very beneficial for the community if you emphasize this point in one of your videos.

Hi Liz, On the above essay, if the question happend to be like “to what extent do you agree or disagree”. Will it be fine to partly agree or to have a partly disagree answer? Or should we only focus our answer to either agree or disagree. Thanks, EJ

You can choose agree, disagree or a partial opinion. You are not being marked on your choice.

I need your help.

I have done IELTS for the 3rd time, after attending to an instructor for 3 months period. Unfortunately this time I got the worst result which is 6 in Writing.

Last 2 times I got 6.5 in writing. This time even I felt confidence on my writing I couldn’t believe how it went further down.

It was about buying second hand products, what are the reasons and whether it has negative or positive impact.

I wrote 2 paragraphs explaining 2 reasons and 3rd explaining the impact. What I argued is it has negative impact. What I could think which affected my score is about a phrase I used in conclusion “To put in a nutshell, I pen down saying that”. I saw this clause in a model essay published in a website.

I could not think what went wrong, was it my ideas or was it my inappropriate word choice.

Appreciate your comments. Please advice.

hi Mam I’m Ajim. I’m confused Are both direct answer essay and argumentative essay same?? question like…… Why study history? Is free speech necessary in a free society?? Please,help with that.

I would like to ask you a question in connection with Task 2 from a Sample Test. The task is:”Concern for the environment is growing rapidly and more and more people are choosing to be ‘eco-tourists’-travelling in responsible,environmentally-friendly ways.As a result,the eco-tourism industry is expanding.

To what extent do you think this is a positive trend?”

Is it an opinion essay or a combination essay (opinion and direct question essay) ?

Thank you in advance!

It is a direct question essay which requires your opinion. You must state if you think it is positive or not and explain your point of view.

How to diffrenciate between direct question and opinion question while both of them are asking ( why do you think ? )

An opinion essay is categorised by the fact that the only question is “do you agree or disagree?”. The direct question essay contains two or more questions to answer. However, both require an opinion. The catgorises are mainly used by teachers in order to teach – so don’t worry so much. Just follow the instructions.

Thanks for help

Thank you for this great website with many useful tips and tricks.

I have been struggling with my essays for a while, and I was wondering if you can give me a hand by pointing mistakes or odd writing style.

While money comes as number one priority for some people, other think that it is not of that importance. Money can but many materialistic assets , but it falls behind when it comes to intangible relations. Personally, I do not think what wealth can buy happiness.

Firstly, Money has taken over our lives significantly. For example, some are convinced that it is better to cry in a luxurious car such as BMW rather than on your foot, trying to exaggerate the importance of money, but they are oblivious to the truth if being sad and maybe devastated in both cases. For sure money is important but not such an extent. It can buy a breathtaking house with stunning views, but with neither a family nor children.

Secondly, family ties play an important role in drawing a smile on the one’s face. For instance, whenever I feel down, I check old photos with my family, and a torrent of rekindled memories come across my mind. while many families work their fingers to the bone, trying to achieve a satisfactory amount of money monthly, they forget to give their children an adequate amount of care and love. A justification for this social transformation can be related to the capitalist greedy world that we live in.

Thirdly, religion can be a source of stability during the journey of life. when people face a bitter hardship, religion is this thing that bring them back on their feet. This spiritual relation works as the guardian guide, bringing peace which in turn brings happiness.

In conclusion, it always feels great to have a six digit bank account, but this will bring neither satisfaction nor joy to the life. In my opinion, we need to be more focused on being humans rather than our banks.

Hello Liz, First of all, many thanks for this amazing website. I find it the best in aiding me with my IELTS test. Secondly, I don’t think I understand the difference between Direct Essays and Cause-Solution ones. I mean, isn’t every Cause-Solution essay fundamentally a Direct one? ( and not vice versa of course)

Sure. It is still a direct question. However, the label of “Direct Question Essay” refers to essays which don’t fall into the other categories and generally just ask questions such as “What is happiness?” “Why is it difficult to define?”.

Hello Liz, Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

how would you write an introduction for essays that cannot be easily paraphrased. for example

GOVERNMENTS SHOULD NOT INVEST IN ARTS SUCH AS MUSIC AND THEATER. GOVERNMENTS MUST INVEST MORE IN PUBLIC SERVICES.

TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE?

Tomorrow I will put this question up on facebook for all students to try and then on Thursday I’ll write a model background statement and post it on this blog. Thanks for sharing this question.

Lending money more on public services instead of spending any music and theatre would not be ever fruitful, and I believe authorities must invest in them.

Would this introduction be OK?

please reply. m

Hello, I’m your big fan in Tokyo. I’d like to show my sincere gratidude to you for creating such a useful website for those who want to get better scores in IELTS. I have one question in terms of subjectiveness in writing essay. Some people told me that it is better to avoid using such subjective phrases as “In my opinion” or “I believe”. Is that the case for IELTS writing?

Thanks for your comment. In writing task 2, you must follow the instructions very carefully and your score will depend on you doing that. If the instructions ask for your opinion, you MUST give it clearly. Writing “It is believed that…” does not show your personal opinion. It states what is thought by others. Therefore, in an opinion essay, you MUST use language which clearly gives your point of view, such as “I think” or “In my opinion”. See this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-should-i-give-my-opinion/ and also this page: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-expressing-your-opinion/ . See this page for all free writing task 2 tips: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/ . For detailed training in writing task 2, think about getting my advanced lessons: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore . Good luck!

Many thanks indeed!

Hi Liz, Is this essay a Direct Question type? I mean, even if it asks about “causes” and asks our “opinion”.

(“The continued rise in the world’s population is the greatest problem faced by the humanity at the present time.” What are the causes of this continued rise? Do you agree that it is the greatest problem faced by humanity?)

It is a direct questions essay which uses one question from the cause type essay and one question from the opinion type essay. So, it’s a combination essay requiring you to answer each question directly.

Bunch of thanks for your so much useful blog. the 2nd paragraph of body paragraphs you wrote: for instance, a doctor (SINGLE) doing volunteer work in underdeveloped countries may have ( HAS) ……..and doing the job they are (HE IS) good at,

“may have” we never change the second verb and “may” never changes. We often refer to individual people as “they” in academic writing rather than he/she.

Hi Liz, your lessons are amazing! Thank you so much for all that information and useful advices. Regarding the latter conversation I’m always in doubt about plural and singular when referring to individual people in academic writing so could you please tell me in this sentence ”For instance, an accountant will never know that singing bring/s them/him? more happiness, if they/he do/does? not decide to make a change” should I replace all singular with plural? Your help will be highly appreciated. Thank you once again.

We use plurals. It’s easier to refer to everyone in the plural: accountants will never know that singing brings them …”

hi liz I still can not understand the difference , would you post the link for this essayS MANY THANK

I found your lessons and comment so useful. By the way, if I am not mistaken there is a typo in this essay. The last sentence of the third paragraph of body body paragraphs should be modified to: “being surrounded by a loving and caring family is considered to ‘be’ more valuable than any amount of money”. Indeed, in the original sentence “be” has been missed.

Thanks. Very well spotted 🙂

hi Liz please mention all the styles of asking opinion in the question. Yet, I have problem to understand the question about asking for opinion.

https://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/

if i divided this essay into Intro:includes paraphrasing ,and thesis that includes my opinion BP1: Admittedly,there r some benefits 4 money,,,, BP2:Nevertheless,despite ,,,,,, Conclusion:conclude my opinion is it ok?

If the question starts as “can people be happy without much money” instead of starting “Do you think people can be happy without much money”, still do we need to give my opinion???

Yes, it is still your view. Liz

Noted and Thank you for the prompt reply.

Is it correct to write therefore in the middle of the sentence. For example you have written “it does not necessarily follow that people without money are, therefore, unhappy.

Yes. It is flexible and good for a high score. Using it always at the start of a sentence is mechanical which is a characteristic of band score 6. Liz

Hi Liz ,, I just want to give my gratitude to your selfless intention of helping all ones in need. I was having three things to ask regarding grammar. 1 ) Can we use second conditional sentence of imagination in past tense i.e. referring to yesterday incident of discussion She told “If you weren’t married , I would purpose you” 2 ) Can we use the sentence of compulsion “Have to” in continuous tone i.e. I am having to do this. 3 ) Can we say the repent in opposite way which has not happened ” If you had not gone , you would have not got the chance to speak” while actually one has gone means the work has been attended still can we imagine in “Not” with 3rd conditional sentence

Lots of love sis !!

You can use all grammar tenses if they are appropriate to what you want to explain. Liz

So in this task all that we need to do is simply answering the question ? It would be no need for a paragraph with our opinion ( like in the opinion essays) ?

That’s right. You answer the question given to you. All the best Liz

You have mentioned in the above comment, not to mention about oneself. To clarify, do you mean to say we should not use the real life examples while writing the IELTS essays. I thought this was a better idea to correlate oneself’s real life experience when we are providing an example.

Thanks R. Radhakrishnan

You use examples from your own experience about the world, not your own experience about your personal life. You should present examples in a way suitable for essay writing which doesn’t include stories about yourself or people you know. It should be your experience of the world. All the best Liz

Hi, Liz! I am confused about the usage of “take for example”. I learned “take sth for example” but it seems that you use “take for example sth”(take for example the comparison …). Are both usages the same? Besides, in concluding paragraph, I guess the word “though”( happiness can be found though job satisfaction …) should be “through”. Thanks.

Yes, both are fine to use but make sure you only use what you understand fully and know how to use. Mistakes will lower your score. The second point was indeed a typo. All the best Liz

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IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people believe that money is the most important factor for achieving happiness. However, others believe that happiness has nothing to do with money. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

😩 Feeling stuck? View sample answers below ⬇️ or get another random Task 2 topic.

🤩 Sample answers

Model essay #1:, some people believe that money is the most important factor for achieving happiness. however, others believe that happiness has nothing to do with money. do you agree or disagree.

In today's world, the pursuit of happiness is often linked to one's financial status. While some argue that money is the key to happiness, others maintain that true happiness is not dependent on wealth. In my opinion, while money can provide temporary satisfaction, genuine happiness comes from a variety of sources, and is not solely reliant on financial wealth.

To begin with, it is undeniable that money can contribute to a sense of well-being. For instance, having enough money to meet one's basic needs, such as food, shelter, and healthcare, can alleviate stress and provide a sense of security. Additionally, being able to afford leisure activities and experiences can bring moments of joy and contentment. However, this does not guarantee sustained happiness.

On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that factors such as strong social connections, good health, and a sense of purpose are essential for long-term happiness. For example, spending quality time with loved ones, being part of a supportive community, and feeling fulfilled in one's career or hobbies are all significant contributors to overall happiness. These elements cannot be bought with money and are often seen as more meaningful sources of joy.

In conclusion, while money can certainly enhance certain aspects of life and provide a degree of comfort, it is not the sole determinant of happiness. True happiness stems from a combination of fulfilling relationships, good health, personal growth, and a sense of purpose. Therefore, I disagree with the notion that money is the most important factor for achieving happiness.

(248 words)

Model Essay #2:

The debate over whether money is essential for happiness has been ongoing for years. While some argue that money is not a prerequisite for happiness, I believe that financial stability plays a crucial role in achieving overall well-being.

Firstly, having an adequate income allows individuals to access basic necessities, including nutritious food, safe housing, and quality healthcare. These factors are fundamental to leading a comfortable and secure life. Furthermore, financial resources can provide opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment, such as pursuing education, traveling, or engaging in hobbies, which can contribute to an individual's happiness.

Moreover, financial security can alleviate stress and anxiety, enabling individuals to focus on other aspects of their lives. For instance, having savings for unforeseen emergencies or retirement can provide peace of mind and a sense of stability, which are integral to long-term happiness.

In addition, the ability to contribute to the well-being of others through charitable donations or supporting loved ones financially can bring about a deep sense of fulfillment and joy. This highlights how money can be used to create positive experiences and make a difference in the lives of others, ultimately leading to greater happiness.

In conclusion, while it is true that money alone cannot guarantee happiness, it undoubtedly plays a significant role in enabling individuals to lead fulfilling lives. Financial stability provides access to opportunities, reduces stress, and allows for the creation of meaningful experiences, all of which are essential for achieving happiness.

(250 words)

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Or view the list of all tasks .

IELTS Essay: Happiness

by Dave | Real Past Tests | 25 Comments

This is an IELTS writing task 2 sample answer essay on the topic of happiness from the real IELTS exam

Please consider supporting me on Patreon.com/howtodoielts to receive my exclusive IELTS Ebooks – you can even sign up for private live lessons with me!

Some people think personal happiness is directly related to economic success, while others believe this depends on other factors.

Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.

Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success, while others feel there are more crucial factors. In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living. A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing. Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure, however, such purchases add up to a generally content, comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise, would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships. Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives, is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions. Anecdotally, towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones. Additionally, good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering.

In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. There are, naturally, exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently.

1. Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success, while others feel there are more crucial factors. 2. In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

• Paraphrase the overall essay topic.
• Write a clear opinion. Read more about introductions here .

1. Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living. 2. A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing. 3. Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure, however, such purchases add up to a generally content, comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. 4. If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

• Write a topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end.
• Explain your main idea.
• Develop it with specific or hypothetical examples.
• Keep developing it fully.

1. However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise, would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. 2. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships. 3. Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives, is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions. 4. Anecdotally, towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones. 5. Additionally, good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering.

• Write a new topic sentence with a new main idea at the end.
• Explain your new main idea.
• Include specific details and examples.
• Continue developing it…
• as fully as possible!

1. In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. 2. There are, naturally, exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently.

• Summarise your main ideas.
• Include a final thought. Read more about conclusions here .

What do the words in bold below mean? Make some notes on paper to aid memory and then check below.

Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success , while others feel there are more crucial factors . In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living . A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing . Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure , however, such purchases add up to a generally content , comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle . If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise , would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships . Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives , is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions . Anecdotally , towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones . Additionally , good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering .

In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. There are, naturally , exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently .

For extra practice, write an antonym (opposite word) on a piece of paper to help you remember the new vocabulary:

result of caused by

financial success making money

crucial factors important elements

certain degree some amount of

financial stability have enough money

basic requirement minimum

overall generally

claim argue

correlates highly relates directly to

earnings argue money say

affords can pay for

higher standard of living good quality of life

considerable major

provide for allow for

purchase luxuries ranging from buy nice things including

frequent often

expensive vehicles pricey cars

fashionable clothing nice fashion

item taken on its own thing by itself

contributes adds to

small degree of pleasure a little enjoyment

add up contribute to

generally content overall happy

comfortable easy and nice

enjoyable lifestyle nice living standard

inclined likely to

equate pleasure make enjoyment equal to

legitimate argument clear case

pursuit of happiness trying to satisfy yourself

majority most of

otherwise or this will happen

consequence result

quality time good time spent with

filled with full of

most sustained constant

relationships interpersonal connections

lost touch not talking to, estranged

frayed interpersonal bonds not on good terms with

relatives family members

void absence

physical possessions things

anecdotally from stories

recognize know

spent in the presence of loved ones around family

additionally also

pre-condition minimum requirement

since no amount of wealth as no level of money

buy relief purchase a reprieve

chronic suffering constantly hurt by

depends more on has more to do with

rather than instead of

naturally of course

exceptions cases outside the norm

subjective can be judged individually

defined differently described in different ways

Pronunciation

Practice saying the vocabulary below and use this tip about Google voice search :

rɪˈzʌlt ɒv   faɪˈnænʃəl səkˈsɛs ˈkruːʃəl ˈfæktəz ˈsɜːtn dɪˈgriː   faɪˈnænʃəl stəˈbɪlɪti   ˈbeɪsɪk rɪˈkwaɪəmənt   ˈəʊvərɔːl   kleɪm   ˈkɒrɪleɪts ˈhaɪli   ˈɜːnɪŋz ˈɑːgjuː   əˈfɔːdz   ˈhaɪə ˈstændəd ɒv ˈlɪvɪŋ kənˈsɪdərəbl   prəˈvaɪd fɔː   ˈpɜːʧəs ˈlʌkʃəriz ˈreɪnʤɪŋ frɒm   ˈfriːkwənt   ɪksˈpɛnsɪv ˈviːɪklz   ˈfæʃnəbl ˈkləʊðɪŋ ˈaɪtəm ˈteɪkən ɒn ɪts əʊn   kənˈtrɪbju(ː)ts   smɔːl dɪˈgriː ɒv ˈplɛʒə æd ʌp   ˈʤɛnərəli ˈkɒntɛnt ˈkʌmf(ə)təbl   ɪnˈʤɔɪəbl ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl ɪnˈklaɪnd   ɪˈkweɪt ˈplɛʒə   lɪˈʤɪtɪmɪt ˈɑːgjʊmənt   pəˈsjuːt ɒv ˈhæpɪnɪs   məˈʤɒrɪti   ˈʌðəwaɪz steɪt   ˈkɒnsɪkwəns   ˈkwɒlɪti taɪm   fɪld wɪð   məʊst səsˈteɪnd   rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪps lɒst tʌʧ   freɪd ˌɪntəˈpɜːsən(ə)l bɒndz   ˈrɛlətɪvz vɔɪd   ˈfɪzɪkəl pəˈzɛʃənz ˌænɪkˈdəʊt(ə)li ˈrɛkəgnaɪz   spɛnt ɪn ðə ˈprɛzns ɒv lʌvd wʌnz əˈdɪʃənli priː-kənˈdɪʃən   sɪns nəʊ əˈmaʊnt ɒv wɛlθ   baɪ rɪˈliːf   ˈkrɒnɪk ˈsʌfərɪŋ dɪˈpɛndz mɔːr ɒn   ˈrɑːðə ðæn   ˈnæʧrəli ɪkˈsɛpʃənz   səbˈʤɛktɪv   dɪˈfaɪnd ˈdɪfrəntli

Vocabulary Practice

I recommend getting a pencil and piece of paper because that aids memory. Then write down the missing vocabulary from my sample answer in your notebook:

Many are of the belief that happiness is a r__________f f_______________s , while others feel there are more c__________________s . In my opinion, a c________________e of f_____________________y is a b___________________t for happiness but is less important o________l than one’s family and health.

Those who c________m that happiness c__________________y with e________________e that it a________s individuals a h_____________________________g . A person with a c_______________e salary is able to buy a nice house, p__________r their family, and p__________________s r________________m good food and f__________t holidays to e___________________s and f____________________g . Each i______________________n only c________________s a s_________________________e , however, such purchases a________p to a g______________________t , c_____________e and e____________________e . If a person is i__________d to e_________________e with happiness, then there is a l_________________________t to be made for the p____________________s being the pursuit of money.

However, the m_________y of individuals, wealthy and o___________e , would s______e that happiness is more a c______________e of q______________e with family and good health. A comfortable home f____________h luxuries is enjoyable but the m________________d happiness comes from r_______________s . Someone who has l_____________h with their family and has f__________________________s with their r__________s , is not likely to be able to fill such a v______d with p__________________________s . A________________y , towards the end of life most people r____________e that their happiest moments were s___________________________________s . A_______________y , good health is a more powerful p______________n for happiness s____________________________________h can b______________f from c______________g .

In conclusion, happiness d______________________n one’s relationship with their family and physical health r_____________n financial success. There are, n______________y , e____________s as happiness is s_____________e and can be d_____________________y .

Listening Practice

Learn more about this topic by watching videos from The New York Times YouTube channel below and practice with these activities :

Reading Practice

Read more about this topic and use these ideas to practice :

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/the-10-happiest-countries-in-the-world

Speaking Practice

Practice with the following speaking questions from the real IELTS speaking exam :

Happy Occasions

• How do people in your country celebrate happy occasions?
• Why do occasions usually make people happy?
• How important is the money spent on the occasion for making people happy?
• Is it a good idea to spend a lot of money on a birthday party?
• Is happiness today the same as it was in the past?

Writing Practice

Practice with the related IELTS essay topic below:

In recent times, economic growth has helped many become richer, both in developed and developing countries. However, those in developed countries are not as happy as they were in the past.

Why is this?

What can be learned from this?

IELTS Essay: Developed Countries & Happiness

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25 Comments

Wonderful website

Thanks a lot!

Hello, in first body paragraph, the sentence ‘contributes a small degree of pleasure…..’ so, in such kind of sentence, when can we use contribute/contributes something or contributes to something? Do both have same meaning?e.g. contributes something and contributes to something?

They are similar – contributes to is adding to a bigger whole – contributes to the economy.

But contributes is the actual thing – contributes resources to the economy.

Great question, Sandra!

Thank you sir for making this clear!

No problem!

In 1st body paragraph, last sentence, if person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness….. so, aren’t both same? Pleasure and happiness? Should not there be pleasure and wealth instead of pleasure and happiness?

That is a part of the question.

I think most people would say that pleasure is a part of happiness, but not the full equation.

That there are other, more satisfying elements that make up happiness.

It’s a topic for a longer essay, like most IELTS essays, so you can really just touch on it and give an opinion.

Thank you. Your website contains all topics and top notch vocabulary. Best essays .

You’re welcome as always Sandra!

There is an argument about whether individual happiness depends on being rich in money or not. In my opinion, I consider that money is not the main reason for happiness. Although wealth can solve many problems, hope is the core of happiness.

It is not necessary for rich people to worry about their survival. Money can buy more than enough commodities, such as food, clothes, or even an estate, which results in lives without being hungry or homeless. Moreover, rich people can also entertain themselves with powerful computers, new styles of wind coats, and global trips. They enjoy the toppest entertainment in the world, which can bring them happiness indeed. However, rich people may consider money so important that any single missing coin may lead to depression.

A positive attitude decides the happniess from the root. If we consider that a bright future will come, we are not fatigue. For example, a poor young graduate who just received an offer from his first selected company leads to pleasure in the mouth because his future is promising and hopeful. It is also the reason why people with huge fortunes feel happy. Furthermore, a boss of a monopoly may feel pessimistic if the company appears to be breaking apart. It is clear that money does not determine happiness, but hope does.

In sum, money can bring happiness in some cases, but hope is the origin of happiness. As a result, we should try our best to have better lives and fill ourselves with a positive attitude.

Could be a little more academic, Gakki but strong overall.

Also the phrase to begin the 3rd paragraph is a little strange…

Thanks for your feedback! I’ll keep trying.

The root cause of Happiness is TRUTH. If you back to truth Happiness , Health , Wealth success much more back to you!

Sounds about right!

Please give feedback-

People have had different views about the definition of happiness. While some assert that joyousness in life is linked to the level of success a person has achieved, others are of opinion that other possibilities play an important role in determining happiness. This essay will discuss both perspectives in the forthcoming paragraphs. I, however, side with the latter view.

On the one hand, it is nearly irrefutable to say that money can create joyfulness. In other words, money is an instrument which helps people to purchase things which can generate happiness and gratification. It allows people to be content through things, be it material possessions like cars, houses and jewelry, or buying wonderful experiences, such as vacations. Furthermore, when people’s physiological needs have been met, they would likely have achieved contentment in life. Unlike impoverished people, rich people do not have to worry about the means of meeting their basic needs. Therefore, the wealthy populace are assumed to be full of felicity since they have enough opulence to spend on things that bring happy feelings to them.

On the other hand, many people feel that loving familial relationships and excellent health are imperative for people to be joyous. People who have strong family ties are less stressed and generally in better moods because family members are not only caring but also supportive. If someone is going through any difficulties, it is the family that will stand behind them as a strong supporter and try to eradicate the problem. Secondly, people’s health is very significant. A healthy person will not be constantly bothered by pain in various body parts. Despite the fact that money can help to buy medical treatments, it does not guarantee a complete cure. For instance, if a billionaire is suffering from chronic ailments such as cancer, in spite of spending an inordinate amount of wealth, he may or may not be cured fully. Thus, having robust health is essential for people to be happy from within.

In conclusion, although financial success can assist in acquiring materialistic items engendering personal happiness, in my opinion, harmonious family relationships and a healthy body are stronger alternatives that make people’s lives happy.

Sure, Ram – a littl on the long side – try to get it down to about 275 words.

Also some vocabulary is being mis-used like joyous.

Love your examples!

Thanks Dave.

Does happiness is owned nowadays? Although, few people supports that the economic growth drives-in joy in an individual’s lives, others put forward several other sources of happiness. In my view, definitely money is paramount to happiness but certainly, there are few other requisite needs to be fulfilled in human life in order to achieve satisfaction more than happiness alone. 

Supporters of the thought that “money can buy happiness” are generally mistaken for the over assumptions than reality of life. Money is needed in every transaction of materialistic items that is pre-requisite for the survival. Although, happiness is sum of the difference between the expectation and reality to be true, in general. It puts ones at very ease in life when he holds wealth in abundance. Capability to fulfill not just basic needs but also desires brings loads of excitements. But the problem with this approach is that the factors that define happiness keeps changing with time. 

Opponents of the thought that “wealth is happiness” are more likely has defined joy with some other intrinsic caliber of an individual to possess satisfaction. Though, being poor or facing misery is not noble for anyone but to pertain needed balance of everything as a whole is something leads ones to satisfaction. Certainly, there is no match to love for Lord that outweighs any materialistic needs. Moreover, social and emotional support are largely the dominant factor to define satisfaction, therefore the happiness. For an instance, Elon Musk had made a statement on social media that him despite of being a richest person in

In conclusion, Joy cannot always buy or measured with economic development of the person but that comes from inside a character of the person in different forms like satisfaction. 

Opponents of the thought that “wealth is happiness” are more likely has defined joy with some other intrinsic caliber of an individual to possess satisfaction. Though, being poor or facing misery is not noble for anyone but to pertain needed balance of everything as a whole is something leads ones to satisfaction. Certainly, there is no match to love for Lord that outweighs any materialistic needs. Moreover, social and emotional support are largely the dominant factor to define satisfaction, therefore the happiness. For an instance, Elon Musk had made a statement on social media that him despite of being a richest person in the world, feels despaired when not able to make home at dinners with his family.

Good work, Anubhav!

Careful with capitalizing words that are not proper nouns. Nice examples too, but some little grammar mistakes will bring your score down.

Keep working hard!

What is the band score of this essay approximately?

I have written all these essays so they are band 9 examples, Sasan!

Superb! Thanks.

You’re welcome!

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Best Age for Happiness

by Gagan (Amritsar)

not structured very well....need to organize your letter better and the last statement of the essay you expressed contradictory ideas...work on that.

May 26, 2016

Be more specific. What is the kind of specific unanswered questions? What experiences? Don't talk, prove it. Example, schools in US allow students to have a leap year before going to college, to travel maybe, ... You should spend some time to come up with examples to make yourself persuasive.

Jun 20, 2016

This topic is a discussion essay which means the Opinion must be given at the end of essay instead of at the start...this is a major mistake

Jun 20, 2016

That's not true actually. You may be told to do that with a traditional essay at university, but you need to go with the IELTS grading criteria. It says there must be a clear opinion but there is nothing to say it has to be in the conclusion. The start is ok, though it is a good idea to repeat it at the end.

Jul 19, 2016

Firstly, it does not fully respond to the task. You need to discuss both the views and then only state your points. Secondly, poor sentence structure and vocab.

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Living in the Moment

by gagandeep (delhi)

Hi friends Could pls anybody check this? Some people consider thinking about and planning for the future to be a waste of time. They argue that people should simply live in the moment. Do you agree or disagree? Planning about the future has been the most crucial aspect of human life. Some people argue that instead of worrying about the future, we should live in the present. This notion certainly has its own benefits, but I believe that making strategies for the future is more advantageous for a person who wants to succeed in his life. Undoubtedly, planning for the future keeps a person motivated and ambitious throughout his lifetime. In other words, an individual with clear goals and objectives of his career will work hard towards achieving it. For instance, my friend succeeded in IAS exam recently because he planned for this career well in advance at high school itself. Hence, this is a fact beyond suspicion that people who plan ahead are the ones who really taste the fruit of success. Moreover, creating a blueprint for the times ahead encourages a person to save money for investment in future projects, be it their business goals or their children’s education. Also this preserved money could help them in their difficult times that may be destined ahead in their life. For example, my money saving pattern from past few years has enabled me to spend it for my child’s treatment of an autoimmune disorder. However some people assert that planning about the future is quite stressful and therefore living in the present keeps them happy and contented. Also if they are destined to receive or loose something, they need not to worry for that. But preparing oneself for the good or bad times ahead surely helps them to cope up better. In conclusion, even though future planning may be a bit stressful job, but I believe that in the long term, is the key to success . It is rightly said, that if you woke up without a goal, it is better to go back to sleep. *** Could u pls tell me what bands this essay deserves?

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IELTS Essay - Money and Happiness

by Vedant (Pune)

Many people think that money is important for achieving happiness. What importance does money have regarding happiness? Money has to be on top of that list among all the vital needs a person requires to survive in this cruel world. Nowadays, leading a happy life and having a stable bank balance more or less mean the same. This essay will cover some of the key areas like management of family expenses and a better standard of living being dependent on the person’s monetary strength. When it comes to managing the expenses of a family, one aspect that adults never fail to overlook is a stable bank balance. Not only it helps their children in their adult life, but also it becomes equally crucial for their early development. Aiding children to develop their minds as well as motor skills, parents prefer sending children to playschools. Such schools which are based in big cities like Bangalore charge even more than the regular schools. While having a stable financial condition is crucial for early development, it becomes equally important for children to get a quality education from the most sophisticated institutes possible. One reason for this can be the role that educational background plays during the recruitment process in any field whether in the corporate world or the public sector. Therefore, having a secure future keeps both the children and their parents relaxed and satisfied in the future. Not only does having strong financial support help in acquiring a good education and thus, a stable life thereafter, but also it helps in having a good standard of living. Earning a moderate salary in these modern times doesn’t guarantee a healthy environment to live in. Nowadays, be it the main city or the countryside, affording spacious accommodation doesn’t come without taking a toll on one’s bank balance. Besides having a safe space to live in, one cannot ignore looking after one’s health which comes at a cost since the recent explosion on social media with regards to fitness. For example, gym memberships, supplements for nutrients absent in regular diets, etc do not come cheap. Therefore, money has become a significant asset to living a happy, healthy and content life these days. Overall, from the point where a person starts living to the point where he ceases to exist, money controls more or less every aspect of life. Therefore, every possible privilege that a person can imagine in today’s world cannot be achieved without a strong monetary state.

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Band 6+: Some people say that it is not possible to be happy without money, while others think that money does not guarantee happiness Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

It is commonly thought by a few members that money gives happiness, whereas the rest believe wealth does not assure a happy life. I also concur with the fact that monetary achievement does not ensure a content life; instead, a sustainable and comfortable life can be achieved. this can be used to lead a comfortable life.

Firstly, Happiness cannot be bought financially, even though life’s materialistic needs can be met to need a comfortable life. Air conditioner or a luxurious car, for example, can be purchased to escape from the scorching sun or to conveniently commute. Additionally, it is possible to create sweet memories such as celebrations or expensive yet frequent trips if we don’t have budget constraints. Finally, one’s status can be judged based on their financial background but not happiness and they are temporary.

On the contrary, life cannot be defined by how much we have. Life does not revolve around income throughout life. We can enjoy until money lasts, but there is life above and beyond our earnings as well. Instances such as our childhood, where we don’t bother about how expensive the toy is as long as we have a toy Another illustration is our old age where we survive with limited pension. Here, we prefer surrounded by family and grandchildren, enjoying our life in their presence; we don’t care about materialistic comfort or travel. A person’s life is content only when he or she masters the art of satisfaction with what one has. These feelings are everlasting.

In conclusion, Money is important for life to lead a comfortable life and to have a decent social status, but one can be happy only when they are content and satisfied.

Check Your Own Essay On This Topic?

Generate a band-9 sample with your idea, overall band score, task response, coherence & cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range & accuracy, essays on the same topic:, some people say that it is not possible to be happy without money, while others think that money does not guarantee happiness discuss both these views and give your own opinion..

Money and happiness is very important for everyone. So many individuals think that we can be happy in our life when we have money. Whilst, other argues that money does not leads to happiness. Firstly, happiness without money is not possible for everyone, because in world there are so many poor people who didn’t have […]

Money plays an indispensable role. While some believe that it is impossible to be joyful without wealth, others argue that money cannot assure ecstasy. This essay will discuss both point of view and explain in overall happiness friends and family plays a crucial role. On one hand, one can buy luxuries with colossal amount of […]

The notion that people believe that without money happiness is not possible rather than money does not guarantee happiness has sparked debate.In this essay, I will delve into both perspectives along with my opinion. Due to increasing rates of basic needs in the community – dwelling individuals think money is crucial factors. With the help […]

Few individuals say that it is impossible to be happy without wealth, however others think that money does not guarantee joy .this essay will explicate both the prespective with example in the subsequent paragragh to commence with, if an individual have abundant money he can live a happy life. To explain it money cannot buy […]

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Many people think that money is important to achieve happiness. What is the importance of money to happiness? Give reasons for your answers and include examples from your experience.

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Fully explain your ideas

To get an excellent score in the IELTS Task 2 writing section, one of the easiest and most effective tips is structuring your writing in the most solid format. A great argument essay structure may be divided to four paragraphs, in which comprises of four sentences (excluding the conclusion paragraph, which comprises of three sentences).

For we to consider an essay structure a great one, it should be looking like this:

• Paragraph 1 - Introduction
• Sentence 1 - Background statement
• Sentence 2 - Detailed background statement
• Sentence 3 - Thesis
• Sentence 4 - Outline sentence
• Paragraph 2 - First supporting paragraph
• Sentence 1 - Topic sentence
• Sentence 2 - Example
• Sentence 3 - Discussion
• Sentence 4 - Conclusion
• Paragraph 3 - Second supporting paragraph
• Paragraph 4 - Conclusion
• Sentence 1 - Summary
• Sentence 2 - Restatement of thesis
• Sentence 3 - Prediction or recommendation

Our recommended essay structure above comprises of fifteen (15) sentences, which will make your essay approximately 250 to 275 words.

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IELTS Writing Task 2: Mastering the Universal Basic Income Essay with Sample Answers for Different Band Scores

Some people think that governments should provide a universal basic income to all citizens, regardless of their employment status. Others believe this would be too expensive and could lead to a decrease in motivation to work. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Analyzing the Question

This question requires candidates to:

• Discuss the pros of universal basic income
• Discuss the cons of universal basic income
• Provide their own opinion on the matter

The essay should be balanced, addressing both viewpoints before concluding with a personal stance. Let’s look at sample essays for different band scores.

Sample Essay 1 (Band 8-9)

The concept of universal basic income (UBI) has gained traction in recent years as a potential solution to economic inequality and job displacement due to automation. While proponents argue that it could provide a safety net for all citizens, critics contend that it may be financially unsustainable and reduce work incentives. This essay will examine both perspectives before offering a personal viewpoint.

Advocates of UBI argue that it could significantly reduce poverty and provide financial security for all citizens. By ensuring a basic standard of living, UBI could alleviate stress associated with financial insecurity and allow individuals to pursue education, start businesses, or engage in creative endeavors without the constant pressure of meeting basic needs. Moreover, as automation continues to disrupt traditional employment , UBI could serve as a buffer against job losses and provide a foundation for workers to retrain or transition to new industries.

On the other hand, critics raise valid concerns about the financial feasibility and potential negative consequences of UBI. Implementing such a program on a national scale would require substantial funding , potentially leading to increased taxes or reallocation of resources from other essential services. Furthermore, there is a fear that guaranteed income might reduce the motivation to work, potentially leading to a decrease in overall productivity and economic growth.

In my opinion, while the concept of UBI is appealing, its implementation requires careful consideration and perhaps a gradual approach. A more viable solution might be to start with targeted basic income programs for specific vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or those in poverty, and gradually expand based on the outcomes and available resources. This approach could help address immediate needs while allowing for the assessment of long-term economic impacts.

In conclusion, the debate surrounding universal basic income reflects the complex challenges faced by modern societies in addressing economic inequality and technological change. While UBI offers potential benefits in terms of reducing poverty and providing economic security, concerns about its financial viability and impact on work motivation cannot be ignored. A balanced approach, combining elements of UBI with targeted support programs and investments in education and job training, may offer a more sustainable path forward.

(Word count: 339)

Essay Analysis (Band 8-9)

This essay demonstrates excellence in several key areas:

Task Response : The essay fully addresses all parts of the task, discussing both viewpoints and providing a clear personal opinion.

Coherence and Cohesion : The essay is well-organized with clear progression throughout. Each paragraph has a clear central topic, and ideas are logically linked.

Lexical Resource : The essay uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features. Examples include “traction,” “alleviate,” “buffer,” and “feasibility.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy : The essay uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy. Complex structures are used effectively, and there are no noticeable errors.

Development of Ideas : Each main point is well-developed with clear reasoning and relevant examples.

This essay would likely score in the Band 8-9 range due to its sophisticated approach to the topic, clear organization, and excellent use of language.

Sample Essay 2 (Band 6-7)

The idea of governments giving all citizens a basic income, regardless of whether they work or not, is a hot topic these days. Some people think it’s a good idea, while others worry it might cost too much and make people lazy. In this essay, I will discuss both sides and give my opinion.

Those who support universal basic income say it could help reduce poverty and give everyone a chance to live decently. If people don’t have to worry about basic needs like food and shelter, they might be able to study more or start their own businesses. This could be especially helpful as more jobs are being replaced by machines and computers.

However, there are also good reasons to be concerned about this idea. The biggest worry is how much it would cost. Governments would need to spend a lot of money to give everyone a basic income, which might mean higher taxes or less money for other important things like healthcare or education. Also, some people think that if everyone gets money for free, they might not want to work as hard, which could be bad for the economy.

In my opinion, while universal basic income sounds nice, it might be too difficult to do right now. I think a better idea would be to focus on helping people who really need it, like those who are very poor or can’t work because of health problems. We could also spend more money on education and job training to help people find good jobs in the changing economy.

To conclude, universal basic income is a complicated issue with both good and bad points. While it could help reduce poverty, there are serious concerns about its cost and effects on society. I believe we should look for other ways to help people that are more affordable and encourage people to work and contribute to society.

(Word count: 309)

Essay Analysis (Band 6-7)

This essay demonstrates good competence in English, but with some limitations:

Task Response : The essay addresses all parts of the task, discussing both viewpoints and providing a personal opinion. However, the ideas could be more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion : The essay is generally well-organized, but the use of cohesive devices is sometimes overused or faulty (e.g., “However” at the start of a paragraph).

Lexical Resource : The essay uses an adequate range of vocabulary, but there is limited evidence of sophisticated word choice or idiomatic language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy : The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. There are some errors, but they do not impede communication.

Development of Ideas : The main points are relevant, but some ideas lack full development or supporting examples.

This essay would likely score in the Band 6-7 range. It demonstrates a good understanding of the topic and communicates ideas clearly, but lacks the sophistication and depth of a higher band score essay.

Key Vocabulary to Remember

Universal Basic Income (UBI) (noun) – /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl ˈbeɪsɪk ˈɪnkʌm/ – A government program in which every adult citizen receives a set amount of money on a regular basis.

Economic inequality (noun phrase) – /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˌɪnɪˈkwɒlɪti/ – The unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society.

Automation (noun) – /ˌɔːtəˈmeɪʃn/ – The use of largely automatic equipment in a system of manufacturing or other production process.

Financial feasibility (noun phrase) – /faɪˈnænʃl ˌfiːzəˈbɪləti/ – The degree to which a financial project or plan is possible or viable.

Work incentive (noun phrase) – /wɜːk ɪnˈsentɪv/ – Something that motivates or encourages someone to work.

Job displacement (noun phrase) – /dʒɒb dɪsˈpleɪsmənt/ – The elimination of jobs due to technological or economic changes.

Productivity (noun) – /ˌprɒdʌkˈtɪvəti/ – The effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.

Socio-economic (adjective) – /ˌsəʊsioʊˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk/ – Relating to or concerned with the interaction of social and economic factors.

Safety net (noun phrase) – /ˈseɪfti net/ – A safeguard against possible hardship or adversity.

Reallocation (noun) – /ˌriːæləˈkeɪʃn/ – The action of allocating something again or in a different way.

The topic of universal basic income is likely to remain relevant in IELTS Writing Task 2 essays due to its growing importance in global economic discussions. To prepare for this and similar topics, practice writing balanced essays that consider multiple perspectives and provide well-reasoned personal opinions.

Other related topics you might encounter could include:

• The impact of automation on employment
• Government strategies for reducing poverty
• The future of work in the digital age
• Economic inequality and potential solutions

We encourage you to practice writing an essay on the UBI topic provided in this article. Share your essay in the comments section for feedback and discussion with other learners. This active practice is an excellent way to improve your IELTS Writing skills and prepare for the exam.

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Ielts writing task 2 sample 781 - if people have more money, they are generally happier, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, it is believed by many people that ‘if people have more money, they are generally happier.’.

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