IELTS WRITING TASK 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.
The position of women in society has changed markedly in the last twenty years. Many of the problems young people now experience, such as juvenile delinquency, arise from the fact that many married women now work and are not at home to care for their children.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
You should write at least 250 words.
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.
Sample Answer 1:
[This model has been prepared by an examiner as an example of a very good answer. However, please note that this is just one example out of many possible approaches.]
It is certainly true that the position of women in society has undergone a dramatic change in the past twenty years but I do not feel that this is a direct cause of the indisputable increase in juvenile-related problems during this period.
It is now accepted that young women should find work on leaving school; indeed to rely totally on their parents’ financial support is no longer an option in many families. Likewise, once they get married, the majority of women continue working since the financial pressures of setting up a house and establishing a reasonable standard of living often require two incomes.
Twenty years ago it was common for women to give up work once they had children and devote their time to caring for their children. This is no longer the general rule and the provision of professionally-run child care facilities and day nurseries have removed much of the responsibility for child-rearing that used to fall to mothers. However, these facilities come at a cost and often require two salaries coming into a family to be afforded.
I do not believe that the increase in the number of working mothers has resulted in children being brought up less well than previously. Indeed it could be argued that by giving mothers the opportunity to work and earn extra money children can be better provided for than previously. There is more money for luxuries and holidays and more secure family life is possible. Of course, there are limits as to the amount of time that ideally should be spent away from home and the ideal scenario would be for one of the parents (often the wife) to have a part-time job and thus be available for their children before and after school. It is important to establish the correct balance between family life and working life.
Model Answer 1: [Agree]
Traditionally women are responsible to take care of their children while men are the bread earners for the family. However, the roles of mothers and fathers have shifted tremendously in the modern era and many mothers have demanding jobs while fathers take care of the house. This changing shift, in my opinion, is the primary reason for adolescent misconducts, and it is not because fathers are insincere but both parents are busy outside.
To begin with, women got their voting rights, one of the most fundamental rights of any citizen regardless of their race, sex and ethnicity, not more than a century ago and afterwards, they have remarkably progressed in every sector. As a result, they are no longer confined and forced to play the traditional roles of a mother and interestingly fathers are not fully ready yet to exchange the roles with the mothers. No matter how much cordial fathers are, they can’t take full responsibilities of mothers and natural selection makes females better caregiver than men. Children are often caught between this changing shift and sadly they are the worst victim of this social change.
I believe, upbringing a child is one of the hardest tasks in our life and if both parents do not spend sufficient time with their children and fail to make an impact on their children’s lives, our children will suffer from depression, abuse drugs and finally conduct criminal activities. Not that we never had juvenile delinquency in the past when mothers used to take care of their child, but the percentage has soared when mothers started prioritising their careers over their children. Crime and drug abuse rates are higher in countries where both parents work and I am convinced that many of these youngsters would not have turned into criminals had they been given enough care and attention by the parents, especially mother. Finally, I believe that mothers are more deeply connected to their children and can understand their needs more accurately. As a result, when they start spending time outside, children start growing antipathy towards the family and finally suffer from depression which ultimately leads to misbehaviour and crime.
To conclude, both parents should make sure their children get enough time and care from them so that their upbringing is not faulty and does not make their children depressed and perpetrators.
Model Answer 2: [Disagree]
We tend to blame someone for every problem we have in our society and when it comes to young people’s struggle and misconduct, we indict mothers and their careers for it. However, we forget to appreciate their hard work and dedication to support the family and I believe that parental responsibilities should be equally shared by both parents and juvenile delinquency is not a direct result of professional married women.
To begin with, mothers in many cases work simply because they want to make ends meet. They work hard to pay the bills, bring food to the table and pay their children’s tuition to give them the best education they need to have a bright future. In this ever-competitive modern era, father’s earning is not enough to have a high living standard and that’s why mother’s step up and make things easier for the family. Research indicates that youngsters commit more crimes when they are not attached to the schools and have no career vision. From this regards, mothers are actually contributing to make their children more focused on education and stay away from mischiefs.
Despite mothers’ best effort, many people still think that working women are no longer placing family as their priority these days as they are busy working. But from my experience, I can say that my mother, who is a government employee, try even harder to spend more time with us and my father has taken a part-time job as a journalist so that he can be at home when we need him. It is hard to agree with the notion that professional mothers are the reason for youngsters’ distress and wrongdoing because bad influence, insincerity from fathers, easy access to technology and its misuse and prevailing drug issues in our society are much bigger factors for that.
To conclude, a career woman in a family is not a factor for the increasing level of juvenile delinquency. Therefore, fathers should come forward and share responsibilities and both parents should make sure that their children are converged in education and do not keep bad companies.