Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.: IELTS Writing Task

Bhargavee Sisodia

19 Nov 2024

Essay writing is the common task in the second portion of the IELTS writing exam for both the Academic and General Training categories. The essay portion of the IELTS writing exam lasts 40 minutes, and candidates are expected to compose an essay in this section that is at least 250 words long. This blog will cover the many types of IELTS essay topics, how to approach them properly, and some examples of writing task 2 topics with answers. 

IELTS essay segment: Categories of Essay

IELTS essay topics often fall into one of six major groups, each of which has a particular answer pattern. To evaluate the topic assigned to you and prepare a response, you must be completely conversant with each format. Your IELTS writing band score will drop if you are unable to determine which category your IELTS writing task 2 topics belong to.

Each of the four main components that make up 25% of your final IELTS writing band score is used to analyze the IELTS writing test. The requirements are listed below, each with a brief explanation. 

IELTS Writing: Assessment criteria 

The four categories on which IELTS writing task 2 topics are evaluated are: 

• Task Achievement / Task Response: This criterion evaluates how skillfully you have constructed an answer to the issue in your IELTS writing task 2 topics. This evaluates whether you have met the minimal word count of 250 within the allotted 40 minutes, as well as if you have backed up your arguments with examples and proof.
• Coherence and Cohesion: The logical arrangement and coherence of ideas inside a text is known as coherence. When a paragraph lacks coherence, its ideas are disconnected. The ability to link phrases linguistically and create a fluid text flow is known as cohesion. 
• Lexical Resource: This criteria assesses the extent and sophistication of your vocabulary as well as the appropriateness of the word usage given the essay topic.
• Grammatical Accuracy and Range: This part assesses the extent, precision, and sophistication of your usage of grammatical range. It includes factors like proper usage of punctuation, nouns, tense, etc. 

IELTS writing task 2: Paragraphing and Editing skills

Paragraphing

While writing your essay in the IELTS essay topics, you shouldn’t forget about its readability. A neat and well-indented essay gives a very good first impression to the examiner and helps your overall IELTS writing and score. In case you fail to do so, three major issues occur:

• Lack of paragraphing skills affects your score on Coherence and Cohesion as it causes readability issues, hence making your IELTS writing band score fall below 5.
• It will affect your score on Coherence since it hampers the overall understandability of your essay.
• The examiner might get frustrated and not read your essay with proper attention to detail. 

Thus it is advised to leave a line or two between paragraphs to have proper demarkations. Also, make sure your essay has at least four paragraphs under all circumstances. 

Editing

It is important to proofread your essay before submission to avoid major mistakes. You can follow the steps below to edit your essay on the go.

• Read each sentence after you write it
• Read each paragraph after it's finished
• Read the whole essay once before submission

These three simple steps will help you avoid any mistakes before the final submission.

Also, if you make a mistake, draw a straight line to strike it out, as neatly as possible, and write the corrected part in the space left between lines.

IELTS writing task 2 topics with answers  

Recognizing the type of your essay.

The most crucial and primary task of yours after getting the writing task 2 topic is to evaluate which category your topic falls into. Determining the type of essay is important because the whole format of the essay would be chalked out depending on that. Every category of IELTS essay topics has a particular syntax for answering which needs to be meticulously followed while drafting it.

Say, for example, your essay topic is  “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Parents are the best teachers. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.”, then your first task is to identify the instruction keywords within the topic statement. In this case, the instruction keywords are:

• “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?”: This question clearly claims that the topic belongs to the “Agree/Disagree” or “Opinion” category of essays. 
• “Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.”: This statement is an additional statement in the question. It means that you must add relevant examples (not generic) within your essay to amplify your stance on the topic.

Hence your essay on the above topic is an Opinion Essay, where you need to add your opinion on the topic (agree/disagree) very clearly. You cannot have a diplomatic perspective on the topic statement. Also, you must add suitable examples within your essay since it is specifically mentioned in the question.

Structure of the essay

Introduction: Paraphrase the topic statement and mention your rigid perspective on it. 

Main Body: The main body should consist of 2 paragraphs. Make sure the entire essay depicts a unilateral stance, or else the essay’s syntax will be compromised.

• Paragraph 1: First idea on the topic statement along with relevant examples.
• Paragraph 2: Second idea on the topic statement along with relevant examples. 

Conclusion: Restate your specific point of view on the topic statement (agreement or disagreement) and give it a proper ending.

Now let's have a look at the possible answers to the above topic from the “Opinion” category for the IELTS writing band scores 6, 7, and 9. 

IELTS writing band score 6

It is a well-known fact that parents are our best teachers in life since they teach us everything since birth. I strongly agree with the statement and would like to explain my perspective in this essay. 

Parents understand everything about their children which is why they are capble of teaching the most important lessons of life without any expectations. It is like all parents to teach their children essential life skills to live peacefuly in the future. For example, animals teach hunting to their children, birds teach their children how to fly and insects teach their children how to survive. Just like that, our parents teach us the importance of cooking, cleaning, educating and finance planning. 

Furthermore, when we are in need, our family members give us their full support, and when we are dissatisfied, they hug us with care. Parents teach us the importance of inheritense and legacy as they teach their inherited skills to their children. For example, a friend of mine was taught the importance of his family business since the age of 14. He told me that despite having a masters degree in business, the lessons his father taught him since his childhood, have been irreplaceable. Like that, the lessons my parents have taught me since childhood about our family legacy will be a part of me till the end.

All in all, every child learns the most crucial lessons in life from their parents since childhood and thus I agree with the stance that our parents are our best teachers.  

Notes on the above answer: 

• The words in both underlined and italics represent Grammatical mistakes that reduce the score in this criterion. 
• The underlined words indicate a lack of paraphrasing of the topic statement reducing the score in Task Achievement. The underlined lines in examples represent very general instances which also reduces the score in this criterion.
• The essay lacks in vocabulary range. The words in Italics indicate spelling mistakes. These two factors lower the score in Lexical Resources. 
• The number of linking words is below satisfactory, and words in bold like “children”, “parents”, and “family” have been repeated several times lowering the overall score of Cohesion and Coherence.

IELTS writing band score 7

Our parents are the ultimate life coaches we have ever had and have several contributions to our lives. I concur with this remark, and in this essay, I would justify my opinion with several instances. 

Parents know and understand every part of our personality, and know the exact tactics to handle them. It is the inherent nature of all parents to teach basic survival strategies to their children. Even in case of animals I have witnessed them teach their offsprings the art of hunting. In my case, as an example, my father has taught me the skills of financial planning, time management, and several others. Every day I learn something new from my parents which would stay with me my entire life. Just yesterday my father taught me how to use the drill machine to drill holes on the wall for hanging some new family pictures. 

In addition, when we are in need, our folks provide us the utmost assistance, and when we are disappointed, they also embrace us with warmth. Family skills inherited by our parents are passed on to us gracefully by them. For instance, my grandmother used to work at a stitching firm as an artist and she taught my mother how to weave and knit. Likewise, my mother has passed on that skill to me and she has also taught me the value of family, education, mental health, and the importance of maintaining our legacy throughout my life.

In summary, it is a well-known truth that parents know and understand their children the best, which is why they make the finest life coaches for them. Hence, I agree with the statement. 

Notes on the above answer: 

• The words in both underlined and italics represent Grammatical mistakes because of which the score in that criterion has decreased.  
• The number of linking words could be higher, and words in bold like “parent”, and “taught” have been repeated, which has affected the score in Cohesion and Coherence. 
• The line in bold is unnecessarily long and confusing which decreases the score in Coherence.

IELTS writing band score 9

Our beloved father and mother are the finest educators in our lives irrespective of the subjects and study materials. The significance of their guidance is irreplaceable in every phase of our lives which is why I earnestly agree with this statement and would like to elaborate on my stance in this essay.  

Every quality within our personality, whether good or bad has been inherited or cultivated from our parents. Hence, our folks understand how to enhance our virtues and subdue our flaws, since they have years of experience dealing with those traits within their personality. For instance, my father is very sincere and genuine towards his family and responsibilities, which he has imparted to me all my life. On the other hand, he is quite messy when it comes to time management, which is why I was guided about the essence of being punctual ever since my school days. 

Furthermore, our progenitors extend the most unwavering support to us when we need it and also engulf us with their constructive criticism in case of disappointments. However, they never judge, belittle, or shun their children which is why their guidance is the most effective lesson in a child’s life. Every species has the biological urge to impart survival skills to their progeny without any expectations. For example, over the years, my mother, without making it evident, has mentored me on several pivotal life lessons like money management, simplicity of life, the essence of clothing appropriately, and speaking up for oneself. Subsequently, she has bestowed upon hands-on experience in cooking, cleaning, and laundry, which are essential for an individual to survive on earth.

To conclude, it is a universal fact that parents know the best for their children which is why an offspring cannot have any better coach in life. Thus, I agree with this statement and extend my gratitude to them for educating us throughout our lives without any expectations. 

Conclusion

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