IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
In many countries, when someone gets old, they often go to live in a home with other old people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes governments pay for this care. Who should be responsible for our old people? Why?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
Many elderly people live in anxious of how they will endure their ripe old age in many western societies. Their worries come to reality when they are discarded from their families and even their homes. They are thrown out to an old home where nurses look after them paid for this care by government sometimes. While government should have some responsibilities, ultimately all the responsibilities go to their family members or relatives.
For a start, as people have contributed to the tax system during the course of their whole lives, they have right to deserve a good standard of state care when they become old. It was the elderly people who were at the forefront of the National Health Service (NHS). They have paid their share and are entitled to all the advantages. Throughout their lives people pay their share to the nation, and most cases they pay in more than they receive. The aged people, therefore, are entitled to recoup from the nation when they need it severely.
However, it seems cruel to send elderly to an old home or to nursing home if you contemplate about all the love, time and sacrifice they went through to rear you. Parents very often make huge sacrifice to fostering their children. Our parents always care for our likes and dislikes. So, they too deserve to be loved and looked after when they reach into the ripe old age. An old home or nursing home can provide skilled nurses, but it would never be able to look after elderly as family could. A skilled nurse cannot show love and affection to the old people as their family members. Besides, family members know very well about personal temperaments, likes, and dislikes that are quite impossible to be perceived by professional care givers.
In fine, the state can only provide the basic cares, but familiar caregivers in familiar ambiance are more likely to provide elderly with a better support in terms of holistic care. All that I believe is that we have an inherent obligation to our parents for bringing up us.