Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness?
Sample Response
People have always searchedwere always in search of happiness since ancient times and still many of us are trying to find it throughout their livesthroughout the whole life. But happiness differs from person to person and it cannot be captured by a single definitionit can’t be explained in one word. That’s why it is always difficult to determine its complex and subjective naturecontroversial and deep essence.
There are many reasons to think that completefull happiness is impossible to achieve and moreover it is non-existent in reality. However, complete happiness need not be impossibleBut it is not true and I strongly believe that people underestimate the value of everyday sources of happinesseveryday happiness they have living their lives. Standards of being happy in many cultures and countries are quite diverse. For instance, in Asian cultures, the the main factorsmain factors which influence the well-being of peoplefelicity of its peoples are a big family, care and respect for elders, following the traditions of their ancestors, religion and harmony with nature, whereas material thingsnature and others, material things are less important.
As for western civilisation, the situation is quite different and important sources of happinessessential factors in happiness attainment are rather material than spiritual. According to much researchmany investigations in this sphere, Europeans are very concerned about money, high social status in society, a good job and a good educationgood job and education. They spend all their lives in pursuit of financial success and material benefitsboons are very significant for them. The majoritymajorities start their families and have children in their early thirties after having done some career progressprogress in the career field. As it can be seen the criteria of happiness are rather wide and varied for millions of people, but nevertheless many things are very similar. All of us would like to be happy in many ways in this life: to be healthy and wealthy, have a family and children, be successful in career, have good friends and live a long and interesting life. It seems to me that main factors in gaining happiness are support from your family and friends, harmony with yourself and the world around yousurrounding world, good health and so on.
To conclude I would like to say that we are happy only by one great reason, that is our birth into this beautiful and wonderful world, full of many opportunities and chances to believe in happiness.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The essay addresses both questions and offers a broad range of relevant factors, especially cultural variation, relationships, health, and material security. Its main weakness is focus: cultural generalisations occupy substantial space, the reasons definition is difficult are only partly analysed, and the conclusion becomes sentimental rather than synthesising the answer. Prioritise precise explanations of subjectivity and changing priorities, supported by cautious examples and more natural academic phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both parts are answered, but the definition question is underdeveloped and some cultural claims are broad.
Explain that happiness is subjective, multidimensional, and changes across life stages.
Coherence and Cohesion
Paragraphing is clear, though the discussion drifts and the conclusion does not summarise the main factors.
Give each paragraph one function and conclude with the two direct answers.
Lexical Resource
There is range, but ambitious word choices and collocations are often unnatural.
Prefer well-being, research, material benefits, career progress, and inner harmony.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning is clear, but tense, articles, agreement, punctuation, and parallelism are inconsistent.
Check present perfect for continuing time and parallel forms in lists.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Happiness is considered very important in life. Why is it difficult to define? What factors are important in achieving happiness?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.