IELTS Essay Bank · Task 2 General Training · Opinion (agree/disagree)
Children and Household Chores: Band 8 Sample Essay
348 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 8 sample essay
Highlighted = useful vocabularyWhether children should share the housework or be left free to play and study is a question most parents face sooner or later. In my view, children should take on household chores as soon as they can manage them, because contributing to the running of a home teaches lessons that neither school nor play can easily provide.
The first of these lessons is responsibility. A six-year-old who is expected to set the table every evening quickly discovers that if the job is forgotten, the whole family waits. This kind of natural consequence teaches accountability far more effectively than any lecture from a parent. Over time, small duties can be extended to more demanding ones, such as preparing a simple meal or looking after a younger sibling, so that responsibility grows in step with the child's ability.
Chores also build practical competence. Many young people leave home for university or work without knowing how to budget for groceries or keep their living space clean, and they struggle as the result. A child who has been pitching in at home for years makes this transition far more smoothly. There is a less obvious benefit as well: when children contribute, they come to see the household as a shared project rather than a service provided by their parents, which tends to foster a sense of belonging and mutual respect.
Those who would keep children free of housework argue that childhood is short and that play and schoolwork should come first. These are genuine priorities, and chores must never become so burdensome that they crowd out homework or leisure. However, the choice is largely a false one. Ten minutes of tidying or washing up is rarely what prevents a child from studying, and age-appropriate tasks can even be enjoyable when done alongside a parent.
In conclusion, giving children household responsibilities is not a burden imposed on them but part of their preparation for adult life. Provided the tasks suit their age and leave room for study and play, children who help at home are likely to become more capable and considerate adults.
Word count: 348
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The same question is ready on its practice page, with a Band 8–9 model answer to compare.
Why this is Band 8: criterion by criterion
Task Response
Band 8The question is fully and directly answered, with a clear position ("children should take on household chores as soon as they can manage them") maintained throughout. Each main idea is well developed: responsibility is illustrated through a concrete scenario and then extended to show how duties can grow with age, and the practical-skills argument adds a less obvious point about belonging. The opposing view is treated fairly — its priorities are called "genuine" — before being answered convincingly. For Band 9, the response would need slightly fuller engagement with children whose school days leave genuinely little free time.
Coherence and Cohesion
Band 8Information is sequenced logically, from the introduction's "lessons" to "The first of these lessons" and on to practical competence, the counter-argument and a conclusion. Cohesion is managed well through reference and repetition of key ideas ("This kind of natural consequence", "this transition", "These are genuine priorities") rather than through stock connectors. Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate, with one clear purpose per paragraph. Cohesion is skilful but still slightly signposted in places ("There is a less obvious benefit as well"), which is Band 8 rather than Band 9.
Lexical Resource
Band 8A wide range of vocabulary is used fluently and precisely, including "accountability", "practical competence", "crowd out", "burdensome" and "a false one" (referring to a false choice). Idiomatic items such as "pitching in" and "in step with" are used naturally and appropriately for the register. There is one minor collocation slip — "as the result" should be as a result — which is the kind of occasional inaccuracy the Band 8 descriptor allows.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Band 8A wide range of structures is used flexibly and accurately: an opening noun clause ("Whether children should share the housework… is a question"), a "neither… nor" construction, a present perfect continuous ("who has been pitching in"), a "so… that" result clause and a conditional with "Provided". The great majority of sentences are error-free, and punctuation, including a colon introducing an explanation, is controlled well. What separates it from Band 9 is that the structures, although varied, are used a little cautiously, with several sentences following a similar main-clause-plus-relative-clause pattern.
Useful vocabulary and collocations
- natural consequence
- a result that follows directly from an action, without punishment; useful in parenting and education essays.
- in step with
- developing at the same rate as something else; a precise, less common alternative to according to.
- pitching in
- helping with a shared task (informal but acceptable in a General Training essay).
- foster a sense of belonging
- encourage the feeling of being part of a group; strong verb + noun collocation.
- age-appropriate tasks
- jobs that suit a child's age and ability; the key phrase for this topic.
How this essay could reach Band 9
- 1Engage with the hardest case for the other side — a child with long school days and heavy homework — and explain how chores could still fit, so that every argument raised is fully developed.
- 2Remove the last slip ("as the result" → as a result); at Band 9 errors are rare and minor.
- 3Let cohesion become almost invisible by cutting signposts such as "There is a less obvious benefit as well" and connecting the ideas through the sentences themselves.
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