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.
297 words.
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.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU FOR WRITING TASK 2
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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.
great
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.
Hello Liz,
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?
regards
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.
Hey Liz,
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.
Hi Mam,
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.
hi Liz
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 🙂
Hi mam
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.
good
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.
Hi Liz,
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.
Dear Liz,
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.
Dear liz,
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.
Regards,
Jose
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.
HI Liz,
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.
Thanks,
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.
Hi,
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
Hi Liz,
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
Dear Liz,
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.
Hi Liz,
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 …”
Thank you!
hi liz
I still can not understand the difference , would you post the link for this essayS
MANY THANK
Hi Liz,
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.
Best
Sara
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?
https://ieltsliz.com/liz-notice-2015-2016/
Dear Liz,
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) ?
Thank you
That’s right. You answer the question given to you.
All the best
Liz
Hi 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