IELTS Writing Test Band 9.0 Sample Essays Parents often give children everything they ask for and do what they like. Is it good for children? What are the consequences when they grow up? Sample 1 : 9 Band Indulging children has been a common parenting problem in many modern families. From my perspective, this practice exerts some immediate adverse impacts on children and also results in long-term consequences for them. In the short term, it is possible that over-indulgence causes some delay to the process in which children learn important life skills. This can be seen in a variety of age groups, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. For example, many over-caring parents spoon-feed their children until they are five or six, the developmental stage in which they should have already been able to eat independently. There is also a common practice that parents assist their pre-adolescent children in taking a bath or a shower. As a result, children may fail to acquire basic personal hygiene skills at the right time. In the long run, the consequences are even direr as over-indulged children grow up. If parents unconditionally satisfy all the needs of their children, they may have inadvertently made their children become over-dependent on other people. When these children enter adulthood, the inability to live independently can cause some difficulties for them to maintain their overall well-being, for instance, they may be unaware of what to do when they catch a fever. Furthermore, it is a norm that over-indulgent parents are lenient and do not require children to face the consequences of their misbehaviour. In general, this deprives children ofthe opportunities to learn from mistakes, which may cause their problem solving skills to be severely lacking in the future. From the issues outlined above, one can conclude that over-indulgence may produce a number of unfavourable effects on children, including the delay in gaining crucial life skills such as self-feeding and the long-term consequence of lacking the ability to cope withproblems as adults in the future.

Useful Vocabulary, Collocations & Expressions for IELTS Writing

Parenting (adj) the raising of a child by its parents Exert negative/adverse impact/influence on (phrase) have a bad effect on Result in (verb) lead to In the short term (phrase) during the period of time that is not very far into the future Over-indulgence (n) to allow someone to do or have whatever they want Life skills (n) skills that are needed to deal effectively with the challenges of everyday life, at school, at work and in personal relationships Spoon-feed (phrase)  Development stages (phrase)  theoretical milestones of child development In the long run (phrase) during the period of time that is far into the future Inadvertently (adv) not deliberately, and without realizing what you are doing Lenient (adj) permissive, merciful, or tolerant Deprive of (verb) if you deprive someone of something, you take it away from them or preventthem from having it

Band 9.0 Sample 2

Today, there is a growing trend among parents towards trying to accommodate their children’s every demand and giving them more personal freedom. In this essay, I am going to demonstrate how this child-rearing practice is detrimental to children before arguing that its repercussions may reverberate in their adulthood. Parents may wean their kids on an over-reliant lifestyle by fulfilling all of their wishes.Kids who are granted every request typically develop a habit of pestering and relying on their parents for everything. This dependence may deprive them of the motivation to strive in life, which may take a heavy toll on their school performance, for example. As these children become grown-ups, the inability to lead an independent lifestyle will cause them to struggle in many facets of life. For instance, people who are given generous allowances when they are small are unlikely to be able to budget and manage their personal finances. This is an example of the adverse impacts that parents’ over-indulgence may have on small kids. In addition to spoiling children, entitling them to too much personal freedom may also result in dire consequences. People’s personality is shaped at an early age, and without parents’ close supervision, children may be vulnerable to negative influences and adopt harmful habits. For example, many children use profanities from as early as primary school because their parents allow them to play video games at Internet shops where cussing is the norm. This type of behaviors, which often incites disobedience and recklessness, may be the precursor to an adulthood of crime. In fact, it has been shown that many criminals began rebelling and committing illegal acts from a young age as a result of their parents’ negligence. This is a testament to how an unsupervised childhood may cause small kids to suffer serious consequences as they become adults. In conclusion, granting children all of their wishes may do serious harm to their personal development, and thus this practice should be rejected to ensure a healthy lifestyle for their kids.

Useful Vocabulary, Collocations & Expressions for IELTS Writing

A growing trend towards (phrase) to move gradually toward something Accommodate one’s demand  (phrase) making an adjustment to suit a particular demand Child-rearing (adj) parenting Repercussion (n) a bad effect that something has, usually lasting for a long time Reverberate (verb)  to have an effect that spreads over a wide area or lasts for a long time Wean someone on something to make someone get used to something when they are young Have/develop a habit of (doing) something Pester (verb) to keep annoying someone, especially by asking them for something or asking them to do something Take a heavy toll on (phrase) have an adverse effect on something Vulnerable to something (adj)  able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally  influenced Profanity (noun) a word or language that is offensive because it is rude Recklessness (noun) not thinking about the possible bad effects of your actions Precursor (noun) something that exists before something else, and is related to it or influences its development Testament (noun) something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact ]]>

Academic IELTS Writing Task 2 & Band 8.5 Discursive Essay Many developing countries require aid from international organisations to develop. Many people think that this aid should be financial, while others think that practical aid and advice are more useful. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Sample Band 8.5 People have different views about the kind of support that wealthy nations should provide for poorer ones. Although some say that non-financial support is beneficial for poor countries, my own view is that international aid should be in the form of financial assistance. There are several reasons to believe that practical assistance and advice are what developing countries need. Firstly, an effective education system is a key factor in the growth of a country, so advice on how to build such a system should be given to less wealthy countries. For example, since the [your country name] school curriculum focuses heavily on theories, students cannot apply what they learn into practice and come up with creative ideas, which is why the country fails to make technological and economic progress. Advice and instructions from developed countries are therefore expected to help [your country name] improve their education system. Secondly, foreign assistance can also be given in terms of providing human resources. By having an additional number of well-educated and knowledgeable individuals work in their nations, hopefully less developed countries can escape from poverty.  However, I believe that financial support would be more useful for poorer nations. One argument is that even valuable ideas for education reform may be irrelevant if a country is financially disadvantaged. In the aforementioned example about [your country name], while it seems beneficial to re-organise the education system, this cannot happen in the short runbecause there are a variety of costs associated with education reform, such as purchasing learning tools and training teachers. Furthermore, financial resources provided by rich countries may help poorer ones invest in medical and scientific research. If a sufficient amount of money is spent on these areas, technological advances are significantly more likely to be made, and such innovations can help improve the economic growth of a nation. In conclusion, while some people argue that foreign aid given to poor countries should be non-financial, it seems to me that it is financial support that helps these nations escape from poverty. ]]>