In this post: Eight common questions on money and consumption, and eight chains of reasoning on saving, who should be highly paid, and whether advertising works.
Money and Consumption · 3 parts
- 1. Common questions and arguments (you are here)
- 2. Vocabulary and two breakdowns
- 3. Model, mistakes and practice
Money is a topic where arguments are easy to think of but depth is hard to achieve. Saving is important, adverts are annoying, celebrities earn too much: everyone has an opinion. But precisely because it is so everyday, many people write paragraphs full of feelings and short on reasoning. I did too. The three money essays I sent for marking scored 7, 6.5 and 6.5 overall, and the difference came down almost entirely to whether the example really proved the point.
This is the second Topic Guide, and it follows the same format as the first: common questions → chains of reasoning for both sides → collocations → breakdowns of my own paragraphs → model paragraphs → common mistakes → practice. For basic vocabulary, use the “Economy, business and advertising” section of Topic Vocabulary (Part 2) as a quick reference; I do not repeat it here.
1. Common questions on this topic
Money questions roughly follow three lines: how individuals use money (saving, spending, managing it), how money is distributed (salaries, income gaps, tax), and how companies get you to spend (advertising and marketing). Below are eight common ways the topic is asked.
| # | Question (paraphrased) | Question type | My version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everyone, including young people, should save money for the future. Do you agree? | Agree / Disagree | Task 34 (marked overall 7) |
| 2 | Are actors, singers and sports stars paid too much? Which other jobs should be highly paid? | Two-question (opinion + extension) | Task 25 (marked overall 6.5) |
| 3 | Some say advertising is very persuasive; others say there is so much of it that people no longer notice. Discuss both views. | Discuss both views | Trial essay 3 (marked overall 6.5) |
| 4 | Many adverts stress that a product is “new”. Is this good or bad? | Positive / Negative | Notebook practice (not sent for marking) |
| 5 | When a country becomes richer, do its people become happier? | Agree / Disagree | Notebook practice (not sent for marking) |
| 6 | People buy many things they do not need. What are the causes and effects? | Two-question (causes + effects) | Not written yet; the argument bank covers it |
| 7 | Should schools teach students how to manage money? | Agree / Disagree | Not written yet; can borrow from “practical skills” questions |
| 8 | Should advertising aimed at children be banned? | Agree / Disagree | Not written yet; the argument bank covers it |
There is a very useful thinking framework for money questions: what does the same sum of money mean for the individual, for businesses and for the government? Take saving: for the individual it means security, for banks it means funds they can lend, and for the government it means less spending on welfare. High pay means motivation for the individual and a signal of values for society. This framework is where my CC 8 in Task 34 came from: one body paragraph was about the individual and the other about society, so the levels were very clear.
2. Argument bank: 8 chains of reasoning
Arguments marked “my essay” come from essays I sent for marking; those marked “model” are ones I added afterwards. The amounts and situations in the examples are hypothetical and only there to show the logic.
Saving: why save, and is saving always good?
For ①: Savings help people get through sudden hardship (my essay, Task 34)
Point: At some point in life, almost everyone suddenly needs a large sum of money.
Explanation: Illness, unemployment or a family member who needs care are often impossible to predict. People with savings can get through them; people without savings may be forced to borrow or even go bankrupt.
Example: The example I used in Task 34 was medical costs: medical bills are often expensive and can even bankrupt some people, whereas people with savings can pay the bills and focus on recovering.
The main reason why saving money is essential is that it enables people to cope with unexpected difficulties, such as costly medical bills.
For ②: Personal savings reduce the government’s welfare burden (my essay, Task 34)
Point: When individuals save for themselves, the burden on society as a whole becomes lighter.
Explanation: People who save when they are young can support themselves after retirement, so the government does not need to spend a large budget on welfare and pensions. That money can go to education or infrastructure instead.
Example: A hypothetical case: if most retired people in a country had enough savings, the government could move the budget it would have spent supporting older people into building nurseries or improving public transport.
When individuals save for retirement, the government can spend less on welfare and allocate more money to education and infrastructure.
For ③: Savings flow through banks to businesses and drive the economy (my essay, Task 34)
Point: Money in the bank does not sit still; it is lent to businesses.
Explanation: Banks lend deposits to companies, which use the money to expand, hire staff and invest in research, eventually creating jobs and economic growth. Personal savings therefore indirectly become investment for society.
Example: In Task 34 I wrote that when people save, financial institutions such as banks or post offices can offer loans to businesses, giving them the funds to build facilities.
Savings deposited in banks can be lent to businesses, enabling them to expand and create jobs.
Against ①: Young people should “invest in themselves”, not just save (model)
Point: For young people who have just started work, spending money on improving their skills may bring a higher long-term return than saving it.
Explanation: When you are young, your income is low and the amount you can save is limited. But if you spend the money on a certificate, a language or a professional course, your future salary may rise substantially, and it is not too late to start saving once your income is stable.
Example: A hypothetical case: an office worker spends tens of thousands of NT dollars (roughly a thousand US dollars) on a professional course and earns a certificate. Two or three years later they move to a better-paid job, and the extra income far exceeds the interest that money would have earned in a bank.
However, young people may benefit more from investing in their own skills, since higher qualifications often lead to a much higher income in the long run.
Income and salaries: who should be highly paid?
For ④: High pay should go to jobs that need long training or involve high risk (my essay, Task 25)
Point: A salary should reflect the investment and the risk a job involves.
Explanation: Doctors, professors and lawyers train for many years before they can practise; police officers, firefighters and soldiers risk injury or even death every day to protect the public. Rewarding this with high pay is how society keeps attracting talented people into these professions.
Example: My example in Task 25: doctors, professors and lawyers need solid training and years of effort to earn their degrees; police officers, firefighters and soldiers carry out dangerous tasks to keep the public safe.
Jobs that require years of training or involve serious risks deserve higher salaries, because this motivates talented people to enter these professions.
Against ②: Stars’ high incomes are set by the market, so they are not necessarily “too much” (model)
Point: A star’s income comes from box-office sales, advertising and audiences; it is a price set by the market.
Explanation: A star can bring in millions of viewers and large advertising revenue, and companies pay them highly because they generate matching income. It is hard for governments or society, and arguably wrong, to decide by rule who earns “too much”.
Example: A hypothetical case: a film sells far more tickets because of its lead actor, and the fee the studio pays that actor is really just a share of that extra revenue.
Some argue that entertainers’ high incomes simply reflect the huge revenue they generate for film studios, record labels and sponsors.
Advertising and spending: does advertising work?
For ⑤: Targeted adverts, shown again and again, leave a deep impression (my essay, Trial essay 3)
Point: Modern advertising is targeted according to consumers’ habits, which makes it more persuasive than in the past.
Explanation: Platforms guess your preferences from your browsing and purchase history and push discounts at the moment you are most likely to buy. The same product appears again and again, the impression deepens, and the chance of buying rises with it.
Example: My example in Trial essay 3: Facebook predicts preferences from past purchases and pushes discounts on those goods, making consumers want to buy.
Targeted advertisements are highly persuasive because they repeatedly show consumers products that match their previous purchases.
Against ③: There are too many adverts and they often exaggerate, so consumers learn to ignore them (my essay, Trial essay 3)
Point: Because adverts are everywhere, consumers become immune to them.
Explanation: As soon as a compulsory advert appears, most people’s first reaction is to look for the “Skip” button. On top of that, cases of misleading advertising keep growing, so consumers do not know which information to trust and simply ignore all of it.
Example: My example in Trial essay 3: when I use YouTube, I usually skip the adverts straight away, let alone pay attention to what they say.
Many consumers now ignore advertisements altogether, as they have learned to skip online adverts and distrust exaggerated claims.
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Topic Guides (post 7 of 10)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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