GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 147
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Many people think that the most important things in life are free (i.e. they cannot be bought).
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.
Model Answer: [Agreement]
It is often said that many things in life, which are considered vitally important in life, cannot be purchased with money. I completely agree with the notion and we are lucky to have those most important things in life for free.
Money can buy so many things, but there are some crucial things, like happiness, that money cannot buy. A good place to begin is with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: “Money has never made a man happy, nor will it; there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness”. Money can just help people acquire earthly possessions, and no matter how much material ownership they have, if they do not feel deep gratitude and learn how to become contented, they will obviously never be satisfied. We can have the most basic necessity in life like the oxygen we breathe, the friends and family we are surrounded by in life are all for free.
Similarly, time is another precious thing in life that cannon be bought. No matter how rich an individual is, he cannot get the time back once it is gone. In fact, time is free for everybody, yet nobody can own it but use it. Each passing moment is the moment that will never get back. Despite the ridiculous progress of medical science, for example, there is no practical approach to extend our life significantly. Therefore, no sums of money can ever turn the clocks back. Finally, health is one of the key things in life money cannot purchase. No matter how rich a man is, she or he will never willingly trade health for money. In many real-life cases, people sacrifice their health in pursuit of wealth, which in turn, deteriorate their health. People, in fact, afford medical bills and expenses, but they can never recuperate their natural health once it has deteriorated.
We may draw the conclusion that the most crucial things in our life, like happiness, relationship, time, air, and health, in life cannot be bought with money and they are virtually free.