Today, more and more parents depend on their children’s grandparents for childcare. Do you think this is a positive or a negative trend?
Sample Response
In many countries, it is common for working parents to rely on their parents or in-laws to take care of their young children. While some people may argue that this is a beneficial arrangement for both the grandparents and the grandchildren, I believe this is a negative trend that has several drawbacks.
One of the main reasons I believe this trend is negative is thatreasons why I believe this trend is negative is because it creates considerable stress and a heavy burdena lot of stress and burden for elderly grandparents. They may have their own health issues, financial problems, or personal interests that they need to attend to. Taking care of young children can be physically and mentally exhausting, especially if they have to do it on a regular basis. ConsequentlySo, grandparents may not be able to cope with the demands and challenges of raising children in the modern world. For example, they may not be familiar with current educational methods, technology, or safety standardsthe latest educational methods, technologies, or safety standards.
Another reason this is a negative development is that it can affect the quality of the relationship between the parents and their children. Parents may miss out on important milestones, events, or experiences in their children’s lives. They may not be able to bond with their children as much as they would like to. They may also lose some authority or respect from their children, who may see their grandparents as their primary caregivers.
Finally, parents may have conflictsconflicts or disagreements with the grandparentstheir children's grandparents over how to raise their children. They may have different values, beliefs, or expectations that can cause friction or misunderstandingsmisunderstanding.
In conclusion, I think that depending on grandparents for childcare is a negative trend that should be avoided if possible. It can put too much pressure on the grandparents, who may not be able to provide the care the children needthe best care for the children. It can also weaken the connection between the parents and their children, and create conflicts between the parents and grandparentsconflicts with their parents.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response presents a clear position and develops several relevant drawbacks with logical explanations, making the argument easy to follow. Its main limitation is that the final point about family conflict is comparatively brief and some claims remain general. The highest-priority improvement is to develop each reason with a more specific causal explanation or concrete illustration while refining a few awkward collocations.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question with a consistent negative position and several relevant, generally developed reasons.
Develop the final point about intergenerational conflict as fully as the earlier arguments, ideally with a specific consequence or example.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through clearly focused paragraphs, with cohesive devices and referencing used effectively overall.
Vary sentence openings and pronoun-led links to reduce the repeated pattern of short sentences beginning with “They may”.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently wide vocabulary conveys the argument precisely, although a few combinations such as “stress and burden” are slightly awkward.
Use more natural collocations, such as “place a heavy burden on” and “lose authority in their children’s eyes”.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex and simple structures is handled with good control, and errors are occasional and non-impeding.
Refine cause constructions and possessive references, replacing forms such as “the reason is because” with more precise structures.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Today, more and more parents depend on their children’s grandparents for childcare. Do you think this is a positive or a negative trend?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.