IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 General Training · Opinion (agree/disagree)
Children and Household Chores: Band 7 Sample Essay
321 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 7 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularyIn many modern families, parents take care of all the housework so that their children can focus on school and play. While I understand this approach, I believe that children should be given household tasks as soon as they are capable, because the benefits for their development overweigh the small amount of time involved.
The most important benefit is that chores teach children responsability. When a child knows that the family depends on them to feed the pet or clear the table, they learn that their actions affect other people. This is difficult to teach through words alone. In my family, my parents gave each of us a weekly job from the age of seven, and I remember feeling proud when my mother praised the way I had organised the shoe cupboard. Small experiences like this can build self-confidence as well as a sense of responsibility.
Chores also prepare young people for adult life. Many university students who leave home for the first time are unable to cook a simple meal or operate a washing machine, and they end up spending a big amount of money on fast foods. Children who have helped at home, on the other hand, already have these life skills. In other words, chores are a kind of practical education which schools rarely offer.
Admittedly, children today are under considerable pressure at school, and some parents worry that housework will take time away from studying or playing. However, most everyday tasks, such as tidying a bedroom, take only a few minutes a day. Moreover, playing and studying is not in conflict with chores; a child can easily do both if the tasks are suited to their age.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that children should help with household tasks from an early age. As long as parents choose age-appropriate jobs, chores do not harm a child's studies and gives them skills they will need throughout their lives.
Word count: 321
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Why this is Band 7: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 7The question is fully addressed and the position is clear and consistent: children should help "as soon as they are capable". The two main ideas — responsibility and preparation for adult life — are extended and supported, and the personal example of the shoe cupboard makes the first argument concrete. The opposing view is acknowledged and answered with a reasonable point about time. Some support over-generalises, however: "Many university students … are unable to cook a simple meal" is asserted without qualification, and the counter-argument is answered quite briefly. This is a secure Band 7.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 7Ideas are logically organised, and each body paragraph has a clear central topic. A range of cohesive devices is used ("In other words", "Admittedly", "on the other hand", "Moreover"), and referencing is mostly clear ("this approach", "Small experiences like this", "these life skills"). "Moreover" in the fourth paragraph is a slightly mechanical signpost where a simple explanation would flow more naturally, and "This is difficult to teach" in the second paragraph could point more precisely to this sense of duty. Clear progression with minor over-use of connectors is typical of Band 7.
Lexical Resource
Band 6There are some good collocations for the topic ("clear the table", "operate a washing machine", "build self-confidence", "life skills"), which show an ability to use less common vocabulary. However, errors in word choice and spelling are more than occasional: "overweigh" should be outweigh, "a big amount of money" should be a large amount, "fast foods" should be the uncountable fast food, and "responsability" is misspelled. There is also noticeable repetition of "children", "chores" and "household tasks". These inaccuracies with less common items keep vocabulary at Band 6, below the other criteria.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 7A variety of complex structures is used accurately: a concessive "While" clause, a past perfect in a relative structure ("the way I had organised"), a gerund after "remember", and a conditional "As long as" clause. Most sentences are error-free. There are two agreement errors — "playing and studying is not in conflict" (are) and "chores do not harm … and gives them" (give) — which are the kind of occasional slips Band 7 allows.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- clear the table
- to remove plates after a meal; the opposite of set the table.
- build self-confidence
- natural verb + noun collocation; also boost a child's confidence.
- a sense of responsibility
- a feeling of duty towards others; a key phrase for parenting topics.
- operate a washing machine
- precise verb choice for using equipment; more formal than use.
- life skills
- practical abilities needed for everyday adult life, such as cooking and budgeting.
How this essay could reach Band 8
- 1Work on word choice with less common items: learn outweigh, a large amount of, fast food (uncountable) and the spelling of responsibility, and vary "children" with young people, youngsters or a child.
- 2Develop the counter-argument more fully — for example, admit that some children have very long school days and explain how parents can adjust the tasks — before rejecting it.
- 3Let ideas connect through reference rather than connectors: replace "Moreover" with a sentence that grows from the one before, such as "Nor is there a real conflict between…".
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