IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 General Training · Opinion (agree/disagree)
Children and Household Chores: Band 6 Sample Essay
266 words · Topic: Family, Society ·
The question
Write about the following topic:
Some people believe that children should be given household chores to do as soon as they are old enough to manage them. Others think that children should be free to spend their time playing and studying.
Do you agree or disagree that children should help with household tasks?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Band 6 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularyNowadays many parents do all the housework by themself and their children only play and study. Some people think this is good, but other people believe children should help at home when they are old enough. In my opinion, children should do household chores, but not too much.
First of all, doing chores teach children to be responsable. When a child make his own bed or wash the dishes, he learn that everyone in the family have duties. For example, my sister son is eight years old and he feed the cat every morning. Before he was very lazy, now he is more organised and he help his mother without she ask him.
Second, household chores are useful for the future. When children grow up they will live alone, maybe in university or in another city. If they never learnt how to cook or do the laundry, their life will be very difficult. Chores give children practical skills that they can not learn in school.
On the other hand, some people say children are very busy because they must make their homework and they need time to play. This is true, playing is important for children's health and they need to relax after school. But I think 20 or 30 minutes of chores every day is not a problem. Parents can give simple tasks like tidy their room or set the table.
In conclusion, I agree that children should help with household tasks because it make them responsible and teach them skills for the future. Parents should choose tasks which is suitable for the child age.
Word count: 266
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Why this is Band 6: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 6The essay answers the question and the position — children should help, "but not too much" — is clear in the introduction and conclusion. Both views in the prompt are covered, and the main ideas (responsibility and future independence) are relevant. However, development is uneven: the example of the nephew states that he changed but not how feeding the cat caused it, the opposing view about study and play is dealt with in two short sentences, and "not too much" is never explained. The conclusion also introduces a new idea about suitable tasks. Addressing all parts with some ideas insufficiently developed is Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 6The essay is coherent and progresses clearly: introduction, two reasons, the other view, and a conclusion. Linking is mechanical, however — First of all, Second, On the other hand, In conclusion — and cohesion within sentences is sometimes faulty: "Before he was very lazy, now he is more organised" needs a linker such as whereas before, and "This is true" does not make clear exactly which claim it refers to. Paragraphing is logical throughout. Effective but mechanical cohesion places this at Band 6.
Lexical Resource
Band 6The vocabulary is adequate for an everyday topic, and there are some appropriate items such as "practical skills", "do the laundry" and "duties". Repetition is noticeable, particularly "children", "chores" and "play". There are errors in collocation and spelling — "make their homework" should be do their homework, "responsable" should be responsible and "can not" should be cannot — but none of them prevents the reader from understanding. This is Band 6: adequate range with some errors that do not impede communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 5The writer attempts some complex sentences, such as conditionals and a relative clause ("skills that they can not learn in school"), but most sentences are simple and grammatical errors are frequent. Third-person agreement is repeatedly wrong ("doing chores teach", "a child make", "he learn", "everyone … have", "he feed", "he help", "it make them … and teach"), and there are errors with possessives ("my sister son", "the child age"), pronouns ("by themself", "without she ask him") and verb patterns ("like tidy their room" for like tidying). There is a comma splice in "This is true, playing is important", and the conditional "If they never learnt … their life will be" mixes tenses. The frequency of these errors, even though meaning is still clear, limits grammar to Band 5.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- make his own bed
- correct everyday collocation; note it is make a bed but do homework and do the dishes.
- do the laundry
- accurate; at a higher band you could group skills as basic domestic skills.
- practical skills
- a useful phrase; upgrade to life skills or skills for independent living.
- relax after school
- correct and natural; unwind is a less common alternative.
- simple tasks
- clear, but age-appropriate tasks is more precise for this topic.
How this essay could reach Band 7
- 1Fix third-person agreement: in almost every paragraph the verb after he, a child, everyone or it needs an -s (he learns, everyone has, it makes). This one habit is the main reason grammar is at Band 5.
- 2Develop the example: explain what the nephew learned from feeding the cat and why it made him more organised, and give the "time for play and study" view one more reason before answering it.
- 3Vary the linking — for instance "Another benefit is that…" or "Admittedly, …" — and avoid starting a sentence with "But" in a formal essay.
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