IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write at least 250 words.
It has been suggested that primary children should learn how to grow vegetables and keep animals
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Answer:
In recent years, it has been proposed that primary school children should be taught how to grow vegetables and keep animals. Whilst there are some benefits to this suggestion, I would argue that the disadvantages outweigh them.
The main advantage of introducing such activities is that children would gain important practical skills which could be useful later in life. Learning how to grow vegetables, for instance, would involve understanding the basics of healthy soil, composting, and the basics of agriculture. Likewise, teaching children about animal husbandry would involve understanding the needs of the animals, and developing a sense of responsibility. In this way, such activities could be beneficial in terms of developing practical skills.
On the other hand, there are some serious drawbacks to this suggestion. Firstly, the amount of time children would need to spend on such activities would be significant and could detract from their academic studies. Furthermore, learning how to grow vegetables and keep animals involves a certain level of risk. For example, children could come into contact with dangerous tools and chemicals, and could be injured as a result. In addition, there is the risk of animals escaping or running away, and this could also lead to injury.
In conclusion, although there are some potential benefits of introducing vegetable growing and animal husbandry to primary school children, I believe the disadvantages of doing so outweigh them. Therefore, it is not advisable to introduce such activities in primary school, and instead the focus should remain on academic studies.