Recent Exam Question in IELTS Writing Task 2 – Essay (Children’s Responsibility to Grandparents)

There are different types of questions asked in IELTS writing task 2. Depending on the question, you need to give your reply. Whenever you see a question which asks for your opinion, you should definitely provide your viewpoint there as marks would be deducted otherwise. To determine whether the question asks for an opinion or not, you need to read the question statement carefully for statements such as “do you agree”, “what do you think” etc.  Try the following IELTS writing task 2 question now.

Question:

Nowadays in many families, the grandparents are responsible for bringing up children. Is it a good or bad development for grandparents? Give your own opinion and examples.

Sample Answer:

In this modernized world, grandparents are the ones who take responsibility for the upbringing of children rather than parents who are not able to do so due to their busy life schedule. This is not a good development for the grandparents who are so aged that they themselves instead need to be looked after.
To begin with, there are various reasons why grandparents are given the burden on their shoulders to take care of the kids. One of the major reasons is that parents are so much equipped with their daily work, being employed in companies, that they do not get sufficient time for their children. For example, families where both husband and wife are working in private companies for around 12 hours per day come back to their homes being tired up so much that they go to sleep. In this case, only the grandparents are free to spend time with their kids.
Further to this, though grandparents are making efforts to help the parents in taking care of their kids, it is not good for them as they also need a caretaker. Firstly, they are senior citizens and their age is also affecting their health. They usually need to visit the hospital for some or the other illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and others. Apart from this, it is difficult for them to handle young kids in helping them complete homework, letting them dress up properly for school and so on.
To conclude with, grandparents are dealing with a lot of difficulties in acting as career for the young kids which is actually the responsibility of parents. If parents manage their time well, it would be beneficial for the kids who can then get the required care by both from parents and grandparents.
(299 words)

Useful Vocabulary:

Notice the following words or phrases used in the above IELTS writing task 2 question:

• In this modernized world
• To begin with
• One of the major reasons
• For example
• Further to this
• Firstly
• Apart from this
• To conclude with