A Time When You Had to Pay More Than You Expected for Something

Part 3 follow-up questions

These are the discussion questions examiners asked after this cue card. Sample answers are shown where available.

1. 1. What kinds of things do young people like to spend money on?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with a plain "I think young people mostly spend money on", listing categories with simple "then" connectors.

   I think young people mostly spend money on food and drink out, like bubble tea or dinner with friends. At our studio, I see this every month on salary day, the juniors' money goes on things like that first, then clothes and shoes, then experiences like concerts and trips, and then technology, usually a new phone they didn't really need. Gym memberships get bought with excitement but used maybe twice. Compared with my parents' generation, what's different is how much goes on experiences instead of objects, and how much is spent just to be seen by other people online.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think young people mostly spend money on food and drink out, like bubble tea or dinner with friends.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think" before the list begins. The 7.5 band drops the framing entirely, opening directly on the concrete scene "I see it every month on salary day at the studio", a more vivid, confident opening.
   • LR“then technology, usually a new phone they didn't really need” — Clear, functional phrasing. The 7.0 and 7.5 bands both tighten this to "a phone upgrade they didn't strictly need", a more precise noun ("upgrade") and a slightly more formal adverb ("strictly").
   • GRA“Gym memberships get bought with excitement but used maybe twice.” — A single contrastive sentence with "but", correct and clear. The 7.5 band drops the conjunction and states the same contrast in two shorter clauses joined without "but" at all — "bought with enthusiasm and used twice" — a more compact structure.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge "honestly" and extends the list with a fourth category, "Games and subscriptions", not present at 6.5.

   I see it every month on salary day at the studio, honestly. The juniors' money goes, in roughly this order, on food and drink out, bubble tea, dinners, cafés with good lighting, then clothes and sneakers, then experiences like concerts, festivals and trips, then technology, usually a phone upgrade they didn't strictly need. Gym memberships get bought with real enthusiasm and used maybe twice. Games and subscriptions take a steady slice too. What's noticeable compared with my parents' generation is how much goes on experiences rather than objects, and how much is spent to be seen, a lot of youth spending is really spending on a version of yourself for other people to look at.

   Why this band

   • FC“I see it every month on salary day at the studio, honestly.” — The hedge "honestly" is tacked onto the end of the opening sentence, giving it a slightly more spoken feel. The 7.5 band drops the hedge entirely, letting the concrete scene open the answer with no qualifier at all.
   • LR“Games and subscriptions take a steady slice too.” — "Steady slice" is a nice, natural collocation for describing a recurring but moderate expense. The 7.5 band keeps this identical phrase, showing this piece of lexis already performs well by 7.0.
   • GRA“a lot of youth spending is really spending on a version of yourself for other people to look at” — A comma splice attaches this closing reflection directly onto the previous clause with no linking word, functional but a little loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon instead, "how much is spent to be seen: a great deal of youth spending is...", a cleaner link between claim and reflection.

   Band 7.5

   Replaces the commas around the food examples with dashes, and closes with a colon before the final reflective claim instead of a comma.

   I see it every month on salary day at the studio. The juniors' money goes, in roughly this order, on food and drink out — bubble tea, dinners, cafés with good lighting — then clothes and sneakers, then experiences like concerts, festivals and trips, then technology, usually a phone upgrade they didn't strictly need. Gym memberships get bought with enthusiasm and used twice. Games and subscriptions take a steady slice. What's noticeable compared with my parents' generation is how much goes on experiences rather than objects, and how much is spent to be seen: a great deal of youth spending is really spending on a version of oneself for other people to look at.

   Why this band

   • FC“I see it every month on salary day at the studio.” — A short, concrete opening sentence with no hedge and no framing verb like "I think", more direct than the hedged version at 7.0 or the framed claim at 6.5. This kind of scene-setting opener signals confidence from the first line.
   • GRA“how much is spent to be seen: a great deal of youth spending is really spending on a version of oneself for other people to look at” — A colon replaces the comma splice used for the equivalent closing reflection at 7.0, a small but genuine grammatical refinement. "Oneself" also replaces "yourself", a more formal register appropriate to the reflective register of the closing line.
   • LR“food and drink out — bubble tea, dinners, cafés with good lighting” — Dashes frame the list of examples cleanly, a slightly more polished punctuation choice than the commas used for the identical list at 7.0. "Cafés with good lighting" is a vivid, specific detail shared across both bands, showing this particular observation already lands well by 7.0.

2. 2. Why do some people spend money on things they don't really need?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think it's usually because", spelling out the claim before the anecdote arrives.

   I think it's usually because they're buying something other than just the object itself. Once I bought some wine to impress a guest, and it wasn't really about the drink, it was about looking like a generous host. People spend on things they don't need to feel a certain way, to show status, or just because buying itself feels good. Advertising is also good at making people think they need something they don't. It's also easier to spend without much thought when a purchase only takes one tap on your phone. I don't think it's usually about being silly, it's more about emotion with a price attached.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think it's usually because they're buying something other than just the object itself.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think" before the anecdote. The 7.5 band drops the framing entirely, opening on the bare clause "Usually because they're buying something other than the thing itself", a more compact, confident structure.
   • GRA“Once I bought some wine to impress a guest, and it wasn't really about the drink, it was about looking like a generous host.” — A long sentence chains three clauses with commas and "and", correct but a little loose. The 7.5 band tightens the equivalent content with a semicolon, "That wine in Hội An wasn't a drink; it was an image of myself as a generous host", a cleaner structure.
   • LR“I don't think it's usually about being silly, it's more about emotion with a price attached.” — A comma splice states the closing contrast with fairly plain vocabulary. The 7.5 band fixes the punctuation with a semicolon and tightens the phrasing to "most of it is emotion with a price", cutting the slightly redundant "attached".

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge "Honestly", and extends the closing sentence with "I'd say" and "really" for a softer finish.

   Honestly, I think it's usually because people are buying something other than the object itself. That wine I ordered once wasn't really a drink, it was an image of myself as a generous host, and I paid for the image, not the bottle. People spend on things they don't need to feel a certain way, to signal status, to relieve boredom or sadness, or simply because the buying itself is a pleasure that ends at the door of the shop. Advertising is expert at turning wants into needs, too. Ease matters as well, a purchase that takes one tap gets a lot less thought than one that required a trip to an actual shop. I'd say very little of it is stupidity, most of it is really just emotion with a price.

   Why this band

   • GRA“That wine I ordered once wasn't really a drink, it was an image of myself as a generous host, and I paid for the image, not the bottle.” — A long sentence links three clauses with commas and "and", ambitious but a little loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band achieves the same content with a semicolon after "drink" instead of a comma, a cleaner, more controlled version of the same sentence.
   • LR“the buying itself is a pleasure that ends at the door of the shop” — A vivid, slightly figurative phrase for the fleeting nature of the pleasure of buying. The 7.5 band uses the identical phrase, showing this wording already performs at the ceiling of the range by 7.0.
   • FC“I'd say very little of it is stupidity, most of it is really just emotion with a price.” — The hedge "I'd say" softens what follows into a personal judgement rather than a flat claim, a natural spoken marker for offering an opinion. A 6.5 answer would more likely state the same claim directly without this hedge; a 7.5 answer might vary the hedge or drop it for a more confident construction. Here it signals the speaker's own stance clearly while keeping the tone conversational, typical of Band 7.0.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing sentence for the bare "Usually because", and inserts the hedge "I'd say" mid-sentence in the closing line rather than at its start.

   Usually because they're buying something other than the thing itself. That wine in Hội An wasn't a drink; it was an image of myself as a generous host, and I paid for the image. People spend on things they don't need to feel a certain way, to signal status, to relieve boredom or sadness, or simply because the buying itself is a pleasure that ends at the door of the shop. Advertising is expert at turning wants into needs. Ease matters, too: a purchase that takes one tap gets less thought than one that took a trip to a shop. Very little of it, I'd say, is stupidity; most of it is emotion with a price.

   Why this band

   • FC“Usually because they're buying something other than the thing itself.” — A subordinate clause alone opens the whole answer, more compact than the full framing sentence at 6.5 or the hedged version at 7.0. This kind of confident fragment is a recognisable higher-band opening move.
   • GRA“That wine in Hội An wasn't a drink; it was an image of myself as a generous host, and I paid for the image.” — A semicolon replaces the comma splice used for the equivalent sentence at 6.5 and 7.0, a small but genuine grammatical refinement. Naming the specific place, "Hội An", also grounds the anecdote more concretely than either lower band.
   • LR“Very little of it, I'd say, is stupidity; most of it is emotion with a price.” — The hedge "I'd say" is inserted mid-sentence rather than at the start, a more integrated placement than the sentence-initial hedges used at 6.5 and 7.0. The semicolon also replaces the comma splice found in both lower bands for this exact closing contrast.

3. 3. How important is saving money for the future?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think it's very important", spelling the claim out fully before the anecdote begins.

   I think it's very important, and I learned this a bit late myself. When my father needed eye treatment two years ago, my parents paid for it from their savings without borrowing any money, and watching that made me start saving properly at thirty. Savings turn a crisis into just an expense, illness, job loss, or a broken machine become problems instead of disasters. They also give freedom, like being able to leave a bad job or take a risk. And for old age, especially where pensions are thin, they make the difference between staying independent and depending on your children. Of course, saving everything and never spending isn't good either.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think it's very important, and I learned this a bit late myself.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think" before the anecdote. The 7.5 band drops the framing entirely, opening on the bare two-word answer "Very, and I learned it late", a far more compact and confident structure.
   • GRA“Savings turn a crisis into just an expense, illness, job loss, or a broken machine become problems instead of disasters.” — A comma splice attaches the list of examples to the main claim without a colon, functional but loose. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon, "turn a crisis into an expense: illness, job loss, a broken machine become problems", a cleaner link between claim and list.
   • LR“Of course, saving everything and never spending isn't good either.” — Plain, functional closing phrasing. The 7.5 band replaces this with the more precise metaphor "a life of pure saving is a life postponed", a more vivid, evaluative way of making the same closing point.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge "I'd say" and "honestly", and extends the closing thought with "though" as a trailing qualifier.

   Very important, I'd say, and honestly I learned it a bit late. When my father needed eye treatment two years ago, my parents paid for it from savings without borrowing a single đồng, and watching that was what finally made me start saving properly at thirty. Savings turn a crisis into an expense, illness, job loss, a broken machine become problems rather than disasters. They also buy freedom, the ability to leave a bad job or take a risk when it matters. And for old age, in a country where pensions are pretty thin, they're really the difference between dignity and depending on your children. The balance matters too, though, a life of pure saving is a life postponed.

   Why this band

   • FC“Very important, I'd say, and honestly I learned it a bit late.” — The double hedge "I'd say... honestly" softens the claim, more natural than the flat 6.5 opener. The 7.5 band removes both hedges, arriving at the bare two-word opening "Very, and I learned it late", a more assertive register.
   • GRA“Savings turn a crisis into an expense, illness, job loss, a broken machine become problems rather than disasters.” — A comma splice attaches the list of examples without a colon, the same looseness found at 6.5. The 7.5 band fixes this exact issue with a colon, showing the grammatical refinement happens specifically between 7.0 and 7.5 for this sentence.
   • LR“The balance matters too, though, a life of pure saving is a life postponed.” — "A life of pure saving is a life postponed" already appears here at 7.0, a precise metaphor. The 7.5 band keeps this identical phrase but fixes the comma splice before it with a semicolon, and adds a further closing sentence this version doesn't include.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing sentence for the bare "Very, and I learned it late", and adds a final reflective sentence, "a few months of expenses in reserve changes how a person walks through the world", not present at the lower bands.

   Very, and I learned it late. When my father needed eye treatment two years ago, my parents paid for it from savings without borrowing a đồng, and watching that was what finally made me start saving properly at thirty. Savings turn a crisis into an expense: illness, job loss, a broken machine become problems rather than disasters. They buy freedom — the ability to leave a bad job or take a risk. And for old age, in a country where pensions are thin, they're the difference between dignity and dependence on children. The balance matters; a life of pure saving is a life postponed. But a few months of expenses in reserve changes how a person walks through the world.

   Why this band

   • FC“Very, and I learned it late.” — A four-word opening answers the question and adds a personal aside in the same breath, far more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of confident brevity is characteristic of the top band.
   • LR“But a few months of expenses in reserve changes how a person walks through the world.” — A genuinely reflective closing image, "changes how a person walks through the world", that neither lower band attempts; both stop at the more literal claim about balance or not saving everything. This kind of evaluative closing touch distinguishes the top band.
   • GRA“Savings turn a crisis into an expense: illness, job loss, a broken machine become problems rather than disasters.” — A colon replaces the comma splice used for the identical list at both 6.5 and 7.0, a small but genuine grammatical refinement that recurs as a consistent pattern across the 7.5 answers in this set.

4. 4. How important is it to teach children about giving money to support people in need?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think it's important", spelling the claim out in full before the anecdote begins.

   I think it's important, and it works best by doing it rather than just talking about it. When I was six, my mother used to give me coins to put in the pagoda's donation box myself, and doing it with my own hands taught me more than any explanation of charity could have. Children who learn early that some of what they have is for others grow up seeing kindness as normal instead of something special. It also teaches them that they're lucky, which is hard to learn any other way. The teaching should be honest about where the money goes, and it should never be forced, because a gift a child resents teaches the opposite lesson.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think it's important, and it works best by doing it rather than just talking about it.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think" and spells out the contrast with "just talking about it". The 7.5 band compresses this into the bare "Important, and it works best by doing rather than telling", dropping the framing and tightening the contrast.
   • LR“doing it with my own hands taught me more than any explanation of charity could have” — Clear, functional phrasing for the key insight. The 7.5 band reframes this as "the physical act of giving — my hand, my choice — taught me more", using a dash-set appositive for a more vivid, compact restatement of the same idea.
   • GRA“It also teaches them that they're lucky, which is hard to learn any other way.” — A relative clause with "which", correct and clear. The 7.5 band expresses the same idea with the more precise adjective "fortunate" in place of "lucky", a small but deliberate lexical upgrade.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge "I'd say", and inserts the appositive "my hand, my choice" set off with commas rather than dashes.

   Important, I'd say, and it works best by doing rather than telling. When I was about six, my mother used to hand me the coins to put in the pagoda's donation box myself, and the physical act of giving, my hand, my choice, taught me more than any explanation of charity would have. Children who learn early that some of what they have is for others tend to grow up seeing generosity as normal rather than heroic. It also teaches them that they're fortunate, which is genuinely hard to learn any other way. The teaching should be honest about where the money goes and why, and it should never be forced, because a gift a child resents ends up teaching the opposite lesson.

   Why this band

   • GRA“the physical act of giving, my hand, my choice, taught me more than any explanation of charity would have” — The appositive "my hand, my choice" is set off with commas, which reads as slightly ambiguous next to the surrounding commas in the sentence. The 7.5 band fixes this exact structure with dashes instead, "the physical act of giving — my hand, my choice —", a cleaner way of marking the aside.
   • LR“Children who learn early that some of what they have is for others tend to grow up seeing generosity as normal rather than heroic.” — "Tend to" softens the generalisation slightly. The 7.5 band drops "tend to", stating the same claim more directly, a small shift toward the more assertive register typical of the top band.
   • FC“a gift a child resents ends up teaching the opposite lesson” — "Ends up teaching" is a reasonably natural phrase. The 7.5 band tightens this to "teaches the opposite lesson" directly, cutting "ends up" for a more economical closing clause.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing verb for the compact "Important, and it works best", and sets the appositive off with dashes, adding a final three-word summary sentence not present at the lower bands.

   Important, and it works best by doing rather than telling. My mother used to hand me the coins to put in the pagoda's donation box myself when I was six, and the physical act of giving — my hand, my choice — taught me more than any explanation of charity would have. Children who learn early that some of what they have is for others grow up seeing generosity as normal rather than heroic. It also teaches them that they're fortunate, which is hard to learn any other way. The teaching should be honest about where money goes and why, and it should never be forced, because a gift a child resents teaches the opposite lesson. Small, regular and real is the pattern.

   Why this band

   • FC“Important, and it works best by doing rather than telling.” — A two-part fragment opens the whole answer with no framing verb, more compact than the full sentence at 6.5 or the hedged version at 7.0. This kind of confident opening line is a recognisable higher-band habit.
   • GRA“the physical act of giving — my hand, my choice — taught me more than any explanation of charity would have” — Dashes cleanly mark the appositive aside, fixing the slightly ambiguous comma-only structure used for the equivalent sentence at 7.0. This kind of precise punctuation control recurs across the 7.5 answers in this set.
   • LR“Small, regular and real is the pattern.” — A short, three-adjective closing sentence distills the whole answer into a memorable final line, something neither lower band attempts; both end instead on the point about forced gifts without this further summarising touch.

5. 5. Do you agree or disagree that rich people should give some of their money to help other people?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I agree, but", spelling the qualification out in a full clause before the examples arrive.

   I agree, but how they do it matters a lot. A businessman in Da Nang quietly paid for the rescue boats our district used in the last floods, and nobody knew until a journalist found out. Another put his name on a hospital wing and never actually finished paying for it, both are technically 'giving', but only one is really worth admiring. Wealth is never entirely self-made, it depends on workers, roads, laws, and luck too, so giving some of it back seems fair rather than saintly. Whether it should be forced by tax or left as a personal choice is a real debate, but I'd say both, with tax for the basics and giving for the rest.

   Why this band

   • FC“I agree, but how they do it matters a lot.” — A full clause with "but" states the qualification directly. The 7.5 band compresses this to the four-word fragment "Agree, with a preference for how", a far more economical opening that still conveys the same nuance.
   • GRA“both are technically 'giving', but only one is really worth admiring” — A single contrastive sentence with "but", correct and clear. The 7.5 band achieves the same contrast with a dash and "and" instead — "both are 'giving', and only one is worth admiring" — a subtly different, slightly more compact link.
   • LR“Wealth is never entirely self-made, it depends on workers, roads, laws, and luck too, so giving some of it back seems fair rather than saintly.” — The phrase 'never entirely self-made' is a common, slightly abstract way of describing how wealth depends on other people, chosen over a more concrete or varied description of who specifically contributes. A 7.0 answer might name a more specific example first; a 7.5 answer might use a more figurative phrase. The plain, general wording here is accurate and functional, representing the modest lexical range typical of Band 6.5.

   Band 7.0

   Extends the opening to "I agree, with a preference for how it's done", and the closing sentence becomes fuller with "aimed at actual need rather than at reputation".

   I agree, with a preference for how it's done. A businessman in Da Nang quietly paid for the rescue boats our district used in the last floods, and nobody knew until a journalist found out, while another put his name on a hospital wing and never actually completed the payment, both are 'giving' in some sense, but only one is really worth admiring. Wealth is never entirely self-made, it depends on workers, roads, laws and a fair amount of luck, so returning some of it seems fair rather than saintly. Whether it should be a duty enforced by tax or purely a personal choice is a genuine debate, I'd say both, with tax covering the basics and giving covering the rest. What matters most is that the giving is real and aimed at actual need rather than at reputation.

   Why this band

   • FC“I agree, with a preference for how it's done.” — This exact opening already appears here at 7.0, more compact than the 6.5 version's full clause with "but". The 7.5 band trims it further by cutting "it's done", showing the compression continues one step further at the top band.
   • GRA“Wealth is never entirely self-made, it depends on workers, roads, laws and a fair amount of luck, so returning some of it seems fair rather than saintly.” — The same comma splice found at 6.5 persists here at 7.0, showing this looseness isn't yet fixed. The 7.5 band resolves this exact issue with a semicolon, the clearest single grammatical distinction between these two versions.
   • LR“What matters most is that the giving is real and aimed at actual need rather than at reputation.” — "Aimed at actual need rather than at reputation" is precise and well-balanced. The 7.5 band tightens this slightly to "directed at need rather than reputation", cutting the repeated "at" and "actual" for a more economical final sentence.

   Band 7.5

   Drops "it's done" for the bare "Agree, with a preference for how", and uses semicolons throughout in place of commas and "while" to link the contrasting examples.

   Agree, with a preference for how. A businessman in Da Nang quietly paid for the rescue boats our district used in the last floods, and nobody knew until a journalist found out; another put his name on a hospital wing and never completed the payment — both are 'giving', and only one is worth admiring. Wealth is never entirely self-made; it depends on workers, roads, laws and luck, and returning some of it is fair rather than saintly. Whether it should be a duty enforced by tax or a choice is a real debate; I'd say both, with tax for the basics and giving for the rest. What matters is that the giving is real and directed at need rather than reputation.

   Why this band

   • FC“Agree, with a preference for how.” — A four-word fragment opens the whole answer, more compact than the fuller openings at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of confident brevity, stating both the position and its qualification in one breath, is a recognisable higher-band habit.
   • GRA“Wealth is never entirely self-made; it depends on workers, roads, laws and luck, and returning some of it is fair rather than saintly.” — A semicolon replaces the comma splice used for the identical sentence at both 6.5 and 7.0, a small but genuine grammatical refinement. This kind of consistent semicolon-based fix recurs across several answers in this set.
   • LR“What matters is that the giving is real and directed at need rather than reputation.” — A tightened version of the closing claim, cutting "most", "actual" and the repeated "at" found in the equivalent 7.0 sentence. This kind of economical trimming without loss of meaning is characteristic of the top band's control.

6. 6. What other ways are there to support people in need, apart from giving money to them?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think skills, time, and attention matter just as much", spelling the position out in a full sentence.

   I think skills, time, and attention matter just as much. Our studio built a website for a homeless shelter for free, which was probably worth more to them than the donation we could have afforded. A retired teacher on my street also tutors the neighbours' children every evening for nothing. People can give what they know, give their time, or give things like clothes, food, or a spare room after a flood. Employers can hire people who need a chance, and neighbours can just notice things, like checking on an old man who hasn't been seen lately. There's also speaking up for people who can't speak for themselves. Money is easy to give, but help that involves actually showing up often changes more.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think skills, time, and attention matter just as much.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think". The 7.5 band drops the framing entirely, opening on the bare list "Skills, time and attention, mostly", a more compact, confident structure.
   • GRA“neighbours can just notice things, like checking on an old man who hasn't been seen lately” — A single sentence with "like" introduces one example, correct and clear. The 7.5 band splits this into its own short sentence using a colon, "Neighbours can notice: check on the old man who hasn't been seen, drive someone to the hospital", giving the point more independent weight.
   • LR“Money is easy to give, but help that involves actually showing up often changes more.” — Clear, functional closing phrasing. The 7.5 band extends this to "Money is easy to give and easy to waste; help that involves showing up is harder and often changes more", adding the precise contrast "easy to waste" alongside "easy to give".

   Band 7.0

   Extends the opening with "I'd say" as a trailing hedge, and adds "advocacy too" before the closing example.

   Skills, time and attention matter just as much, I'd say. Our studio built a website for a homeless shelter for free, which was probably worth more to them than the donation we could have afforded, and a retired teacher on my street tutors the neighbours' children every evening for nothing. People can give what they know, give their hours, or give things, clothes, food, a spare room after a flood. Employers can hire people who need a chance, and neighbours can simply notice, checking on the old man who hasn't been seen, driving someone to the hospital. There's advocacy too, speaking up for people who can't speak for themselves. Money is easy to give and easy to waste, but help that involves showing up is harder and often changes far more.

   Why this band

   • FC“Skills, time and attention matter just as much, I'd say.” — The hedge "I'd say" is placed at the end of the sentence, softening the claim. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and the framing verb both, opening directly on the bare three-item list.
   • GRA“People can give what they know, give their hours, or give things, clothes, food, a spare room after a flood.” — A comma splice attaches the list of things to give without a dash, functional but a little dense. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a dash before the list, "or give things — clothes, food, a spare room after a flood", a cleaner separation.
   • LR“Money is easy to give and easy to waste, but help that involves showing up is harder and often changes far more.” — The parallel phrase 'easy to give and easy to waste' pairs two similar grammatical structures around the same word ('easy') to make a quick contrast, a mildly crafted piece of phrasing rather than the plainest possible wording. A 6.5 answer would more likely state this as two separate plain sentences; a 7.5 answer might push the parallelism further. This compact, parallel phrasing shows the flexible-but-not-yet-idiomatic vocabulary use typical of Band 7.0.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing verb for the bare list "Skills, time and attention, mostly", and splits the neighbours' example into its own short sentence introduced by a colon.

   Skills, time and attention, mostly. Our studio built a website for a homeless shelter for free, which was worth more to them than the donation we could have afforded; a retired teacher on my street tutors the neighbours' children every evening for nothing. People can give what they know, give their hours, or give things — clothes, food, a spare room after a flood. Employers can hire people who need a chance. Neighbours can notice: check on the old man who hasn't been seen, drive someone to the hospital. And there's advocacy, speaking up for people who can't. Money is easy to give and easy to waste; help that involves showing up is harder and often changes more.

   Why this band

   • FC“Skills, time and attention, mostly.” — A three-word list with no verb opens the whole answer, far more compact than the full sentences at 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of stripped-down opener is a clear higher-band signature.
   • GRA“Neighbours can notice: check on the old man who hasn't been seen, drive someone to the hospital.” — A colon introduces a short imperative-style list as its own sentence, more structurally varied than the single "like" example folded into a longer sentence at 6.5, or the comma-spliced version at 7.0.
   • LR“Money is easy to give and easy to waste; help that involves showing up is harder and often changes more.” — A semicolon replaces the "but" used for the identical contrast at 7.0, and "far" is dropped, a tighter and more restrained final sentence. The parallel phrase "easy to give and easy to waste" already performs well at 7.0, showing this piece of lexis was established one band down.

7. 7. Are people who aren't interested in earning lots of money more likely to be happy than others?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think they're a bit more likely", spelling the position out fully before the qualification arrives.

   I think they're a bit more likely to be happy, but it's not really about the money itself. A former colleague who left his job to keep bees is the most content person I know, and he earns very little. But a cousin of mine, who also doesn't care much about money, is broke, anxious, and unhappy. So not caring about wealth only helps if you have enough to live on and something else to give your life purpose. People who chase money hard tend to compare themselves to others constantly and never feel satisfied, which isn't good for them. Research also seems to say that beyond a certain point, more money doesn't add much happiness.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think they're a bit more likely to be happy, but it's not really about the money itself.” — A full sentence frames the position with "I think" and "but". The 7.5 band compresses this into the bare "Somewhat more likely, but it isn't the money that decides", a tighter, more confident opening.
   • GRA“So not caring about wealth only helps if you have enough to live on and something else to give your life purpose.” — A conditional sentence with "if", correct and clear. The 7.5 band achieves a similar idea using a dash, "indifference to wealth only helps if it comes with enough to live on and a purpose to replace it", folded directly into the preceding sentence rather than given its own.
   • LR“Research also seems to say that beyond a certain point, more money doesn't add much happiness.” — Clear, functional phrasing for the research claim. The 7.5 band tightens "doesn't add much happiness" to "adds little happiness", a more compact and slightly more formal phrasing of the same finding.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the hedge "I'd say" and extends the middle sentence into a long chain linked mostly with commas and "while".

   Somewhat more likely, I'd say, but it isn't really the money that decides it. A former colleague who left to keep bees is honestly the most contented person I know and earns very little, while a cousin of mine, equally uninterested in money, is broke, anxious and unhappy, indifference to wealth only really helps if it comes with enough to live on and some purpose to replace the chasing. People who chase money hard tend to compare themselves constantly and never quite arrive, which is corrosive over time. People who don't chase it avoid that particular trap, but not necessarily the others. Research seems to say that beyond a fairly modest level, more money adds surprisingly little happiness.

   Why this band

   • FC“Somewhat more likely, I'd say, but it isn't really the money that decides it.” — The hedge "I'd say" is inserted mid-sentence, softening the claim. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and the trailing "it", arriving at the bare, unhedged opening "Somewhat more likely, but it isn't the money that decides".
   • GRA“while a cousin of mine, equally uninterested in money, is broke, anxious and unhappy, indifference to wealth only really helps if it comes with enough to live on and some purpose to replace the chasing” — A very long sentence chains several clauses with commas and "while", ambitious but somewhat dense for 7.0. The 7.5 band splits the equivalent content into two sentences using a semicolon and a dash, a cleaner distribution of the same ideas.
   • LR“Research seems to say that beyond a fairly modest level, more money adds surprisingly little happiness.” — "Surprisingly little" adds an evaluative intensifier. The 7.5 band drops "surprisingly" and "fairly", trusting the plain claim "adds little happiness" to carry its own weight without extra qualifiers.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing entirely for the compact "Somewhat more likely, but it isn't the money that decides", and closes with a further reflective sentence about choice versus inability not present at 7.0.

   Somewhat more likely, but it isn't the money that decides. A former colleague who left to keep bees is the most contented person I know and earns very little; a cousin who's equally uninterested in money is broke, anxious and unhappy — indifference to wealth only helps if it comes with enough to live on and a purpose to replace it. People who chase money hard tend to compare themselves constantly and never arrive, which is corrosive. People who don't chase it avoid that trap but not the others. Research seems to say that beyond a modest level, more money adds little happiness. So not wanting a lot is a good sign, as long as it's a choice and not just an inability.

   Why this band

   • FC“Somewhat more likely, but it isn't the money that decides.” — A compact opening states the position and its key qualification in one short sentence with no hedge, more economical than the hedged or fully framed openings at 6.5 and 7.0.
   • LR“So not wanting a lot is a good sign, as long as it's a choice and not just an inability.” — A genuinely reflective closing distinction between choice and inability that neither lower band attempts; both stop at the research claim about happiness without this further nuance. This kind of closing qualification is characteristic of the top band.
   • GRA“is the most contented person I know and earns very little; a cousin who's equally uninterested in money is broke, anxious and unhappy” — A semicolon balances two parallel character sketches with no conjunction, tighter than the "while" used to join the same contrast at 7.0 or the separate sentences at 6.5. This kind of balanced semicolon contrast is a consistent structural feature across the 7.5 answers in this set.

8. 8. Why might some wealthy people not like spending their money, either on themselves or on others?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "I think it's often because", stating the claim in full before the anecdote arrives.

   I think it's often because of when they were poor. There's a landlord in Hue who owns a whole street and still mends his own sandals, and the reason is simple, he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever felt completely safe to him since. Some wealthy people see spending as a loss rather than a pleasure, the number in the bank account feels like the achievement, and reducing it feels like losing. Some are also afraid that being generous will invite endless requests from other people. Some are just used to living simply and don't see a reason to change. And a few are just mean, though probably fewer than the stories suggest.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think it's often because of when they were poor.” — A full sentence frames the claim with "I think". The 7.5 band drops the framing entirely, opening on the bare clause "Often because of when they were poor", a more compact, assertive structure.
   • GRA“the reason is simple, he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever felt completely safe to him since” — A comma splice joins the claim to its explanation, functional but loose. The 7.5 band fixes the equivalent sentence with a colon, "the explanation is simple: he was hungry as a child", a cleaner link between claim and explanation.
   • LR“Some wealthy people see spending as a loss rather than a pleasure, the number in the bank account feels like the achievement, and reducing it feels like losing.” — "Feels like losing" repeats "feels like" from earlier in the sentence, slightly redundant. The 7.5 band tightens this to simply "hurts", a more economical, precise verb for the same idea.

   Band 7.0

   Adds the trailing hedge "I'd say" after the opening claim, and extends the closing sentence with "honestly" and "quite".

   Often because of when they were poor, I'd say. There's a landlord in Hue who owns a whole street and still mends his own sandals, and the explanation is pretty simple, he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever quite felt safe to him since. Some wealthy people see spending as loss rather than pleasure, the number in the account is basically the achievement, and reducing it genuinely hurts. Some fear that generosity invites requests without end. Some are simply used to a modest life and see no real reason to change it. And a few, though probably fewer than the stories suggest, are just mean. The saddest version, honestly, is the person who spent a whole life accumulating and never quite learned what it was for.

   Why this band

   • FC“Often because of when they were poor, I'd say.” — The hedge "I'd say" is placed at the end of the opening line, softening the claim. The 7.5 band removes the hedge entirely, letting the bare clause open the answer with no qualifier.
   • GRA“the explanation is pretty simple, he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever quite felt safe to him since” — The same comma splice found at 6.5 persists here, with "pretty" and "quite" added as softening intensifiers. The 7.5 band fixes the comma splice with a colon and drops both intensifiers, a tighter, more direct version of the same sentence.
   • LR“The saddest version, honestly, is the person who spent a whole life accumulating and never quite learned what it was for.” — The hedge "honestly" and the intensifiers "whole" and "quite" soften and extend the closing sentence. The 7.5 band removes all three, arriving at the leaner "spent a life accumulating and never learned what it was for", a more direct final line.

   Band 7.5

   Drops the framing for the bare "Often because of when they were poor", and uses a colon before "he was hungry as a child" instead of a comma splice.

   Often because of when they were poor. There's a landlord in Hue who owns a whole street and still mends his own sandals, and the explanation is simple: he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever felt safe to him. Some wealthy people see spending as loss rather than pleasure; the number in the account is the achievement, and reducing it hurts. Some fear that generosity invites requests without end. Some are simply used to a modest life and see no reason to change it. And a few are just mean, though fewer than the stories suggest. The saddest version is the person who spent a life accumulating and never learned what it was for.

   Why this band

   • FC“Often because of when they were poor.” — A short subordinate clause alone opens the whole answer, more compact than the full sentence at 6.5 or the hedge-extended version at 7.0. This kind of confident fragment is a recognisable higher-band opening move.
   • GRA“the explanation is simple: he was hungry as a child, and no amount of money has ever felt safe to him” — A colon replaces the comma splice used for the equivalent sentence at both 6.5 and 7.0, a small but genuine grammatical refinement that recurs consistently across the 7.5 answers in this set.
   • LR“The saddest version is the person who spent a life accumulating and never learned what it was for.” — A lean, unhedged closing sentence with no intensifiers, tighter than the softened version at 7.0 ("honestly", "whole life", "never quite learned"). This kind of economical final line is characteristic of confident, higher-band closing statements.

9. 9. Do you agree or disagree that no matter how much money some people have, they always want more?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Opens with "For some people, I'd say yes, clearly", spelling the position out with full phrasing before the example.

   For some people, I'd say yes, clearly. A client of mine once described his second boat to me as a 'necessary upgrade', completely seriously, and I don't think any amount of money would have satisfied him, because each level of wealth just brings new neighbours to compare with. The desire for more is partly built in, humans measure themselves against the people nearest to them, and that group keeps moving as you get richer. But I think the word 'always' is too strong. Plenty of people do stop, decide they have enough, and change how they live, my own parents are a good example of that. The difference seems to be whether money is treated like a tool or like a score, and you can have enough of a tool, but a score never really has a top.

   Why this band

   • FC“For some people, I'd say yes, clearly.” — The hedge "I'd say" is placed between "yes" and "clearly", a fairly standard hedging position. The 7.5 band removes the hedge and replaces the final comma with a dash, "For some people, clearly yes —", moving straight into the evidence with more confidence.
   • GRA“But I think the word 'always' is too strong.” — A full sentence with "I think" frames the counter-claim. The 7.5 band drops the framing verb entirely, stating the counter-claim as a bare fact, "But the 'always' is too strong", a more assertive, economical structure.
   • LR“The difference seems to be whether money is treated like a tool or like a score, and you can have enough of a tool, but a score never really has a top.” — The comparison 'treated like a tool' versus its implied opposite is a common, accessible way of framing the distinction, rather than a more specific or varied description of the two mindsets. A 7.0 answer might add a concrete example to sharpen the contrast; a 7.5 answer might use a more figurative pairing. The plain comparative phrasing here is accurate and clear, matching the modest lexical range typical of Band 6.5.

   Band 7.0

   Extends the opening with "a client once described" attached directly after the hedge, and closes with the paired but fully-worded "tools you can have enough of, scores don't really have a top".

   For some people, clearly yes, I'd say, a client once described his second boat to me as a 'necessary upgrade', with complete sincerity, and I don't think any amount would have satisfied him, because each level of wealth brings new neighbours to compare with. The desire for more is partly built in, humans measure themselves against the nearest group, and the group moves as you rise. But I think 'always' is too strong a word. Plenty of people stop, decide they have enough, and change how they live, my parents are a good example. The difference seems to be whether money is a tool or a score, tools you can have enough of, scores don't really have a top.

   Why this band

   • GRA“For some people, clearly yes, I'd say, a client once described his second boat to me as a 'necessary upgrade', with complete sincerity” — A comma splice strings the hedge and the anecdote together with no dash or full stop, functional but loose for 7.0. The 7.5 band fixes this exact structure with a dash after "clearly yes", a cleaner transition into the evidence.
   • FC“The desire for more is partly built in, humans measure themselves against the nearest group, and the group moves as you rise.” — The generalising move from the specific client example to 'humans' broadens the discussion outward, a natural step from illustration back to the general claim the question asked about. A 6.5 answer would more likely stay with the specific example without this explicit widening; a 7.5 answer might integrate the two more smoothly. This plain but clear broadening move keeps the answer on-topic, typical of Band 7.0's adequate coherence.
   • LR“tools you can have enough of, scores don't really have a top” — A comma splice joins the final contrast in one sentence, with the hedge "don't really" softening the second half. The 7.5 band splits this into two short, separate sentences and drops the hedge, "Tools you can have enough of. Scores have no top.", a more confident, punchier close.

   Band 7.5

   Replaces the trailing comma with a dash after "clearly yes", and splits the closing contrast into two short, separate sentences, "Tools you can have enough of. Scores have no top.", instead of one joined sentence.

   For some people, clearly yes — a client once described his second boat to me as a 'necessary upgrade', with complete sincerity, and I don't think any amount would have satisfied him, because each level of wealth brings new neighbours to compare with. The desire for more is partly built in: humans measure themselves against the nearest group, and the group moves as you rise. But the 'always' is too strong. Plenty of people stop, decide they have enough, and change how they live; my parents are one example. The difference seems to be whether money is a tool or a score. Tools you can have enough of. Scores have no top.

   Why this band

   • FC“For some people, clearly yes — a client once described his second boat to me as a 'necessary upgrade'” — A dash replaces the comma splice used to join the same hedge and anecdote at 7.0, a cleaner, more deliberate transition into the evidence. This kind of dash-led move into a supporting story recurs across several of the 7.5 answers in this set.
   • GRA“Tools you can have enough of. Scores have no top.” — Two short, separate sentences close the answer with no conjunction between them, more emphatic than the single comma-spliced sentence used for the same contrast at both 6.5 and 7.0. This kind of short, punchy closing pair is a distinctive higher-band rhetorical device.
   • LR“The desire for more is partly built in: humans measure themselves against the nearest group, and the group moves as you rise.” — A colon replaces the comma splice found in the equivalent sentence at 7.0, a small but genuine refinement. "Built in" itself is a nicely idiomatic way of describing an innate tendency, already present from 7.0 upward.