Children benefit more from spending time with their grandparents than from organised after-school activities.
A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan, ideas you can use, and the vocabulary that fits this topic.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Children benefit more from spending time with their grandparents than from organised after-school activities.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
How to read this question
This is a comparative claim, so the essay has to compare rather than praise both. A common Band 6 pattern is two paragraphs — one on why grandparents are lovely, one on why clubs are useful — with no judgement about which delivers more. The useful move is to ask <em>more of what</em>: the two things provide genuinely different goods, so the honest answer usually depends on what the child is short of.
Paragraph plan
Introduction — Paraphrase, then take a position: they supply different things, but what grandparents give is scarcer, so the claim is broadly right.
Body 1 — What time with grandparents provides that clubs cannot — unhurried, unassessed attention and a link to family history.
Body 2 — What organised activities provide that families cannot — structured skill-building, peers outside the family, and reliable childcare.
Conclusion — Agree in general, on the grounds of scarcity rather than superiority.
Model essay
Band 8.5–9.0 model essay
327 words
Some believe that children derive greater benefit from time spent with grandparents than from organised after-school activities. In my view, both forms of engagement offer distinct advantages, and neither can be said to outweigh the other in every circumstance.
To begin, time spent with grandparents undeniably offers children unique emotional and cultural benefits. To clarify, grandparents often provide unconditional attention and patience that busy instructors in structured programmes cannot always replicate. Through storytelling, shared family traditions, and simple everyday interactions, children absorb cultural values and a sense of belonging that strengthens their emotional security. For example, a child who regularly visits grandparents may develop a deeper appreciation of family history and heritage than one who spends equivalent time in a structured class setting. Furthermore, grandparents often model patience and resilience accumulated over a lifetime, qualities that children absorb gradually through observation rather than explicit instruction.
Nevertheless, organised after-school activities cultivate skills that intergenerational time alone cannot provide. To illustrate, structured programmes such as team sports or coding clubs teach children discipline, collaboration, and specific competencies under expert guidance, preparing them for future academic and professional environments. Moreover, such activities expose children to peers of their own age, fostering social skills through structured cooperation and healthy competition, both of which are essential for their overall development. Additionally, structured activities often introduce children to mentors and role models beyond their immediate family, broadening their perspective and exposing them to interests they might never encounter at home; for example, a child enrolled in a science club may discover a passion for a subject that no family member could have introduced them to, an opportunity that might otherwise never present itself within the family home, however loving and supportive it may be.
To conclude, rather than claiming one option is categorically more beneficial, I believe children profit most when time with grandparents and participation in organised activities are balanced, as each nurtures a different but equally important dimension of their growth.
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to read the rest of this essay and unlock every model on the site.
This is an opinion (agree / disagree) question. The essay above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.
That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.
Introduction: Paraphrase the claim that children benefit more from grandparents than organised activities, taking a balanced position that neither outweighs the other.
Body 1: Argue grandparents give children unique emotional and cultural benefits, including unconditional attention, storytelling, family heritage, and modelled patience and resilience.
Body 2: Argue organised after-school activities build distinct skills such as discipline, collaboration and peer socialisation, and expose children to mentors and interests, like a science club, that grandparents cannot provide.
Conclusion: Restate that both sources are complementary, so children profit most when time with grandparents and organised activities are balanced.
Word or phrase
Meaning
Used in a sentence
derive
to obtain something from a source
children derive greater benefit from time spent with grandparents
unconditional
not subject to any conditions, given freely
grandparents often provide unconditional attention and patience
heritage
cultural traditions and history passed down through a family
develop a deeper appreciation of family history and heritage
intergenerational
occurring between different generations
organised after-school activities cultivate skills that intergenerational time alone cannot provide
competencies
abilities or skills
specific competencies under expert guidance
collaboration
the action of working with others to produce something
team sports or coding clubs teach children discipline, collaboration
categorically
in a way that is absolute and unqualified
rather than claiming one option is categorically more beneficial
dimension
an aspect or feature of a situation
each nurtures a different but equally important dimension of their growth
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to see the ideas and vocabulary for this topic and unlock every model on the site.
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Common questions
How do I handle a question that compares two good things?
Make the comparison specific before you argue. "Which is better?" is unanswerable; "which supplies what a child is more likely to lack?" can be answered. Naming the basis of comparison in your introduction is one of the clearest signals of a high Task Response.
Should I mention cases where the statement does not apply?
Yes, briefly and at the end. Acknowledging that some children have no grandparents available makes the position honest rather than weak, and it demonstrates the qualification that Band 8 descriptors describe. Just do not let it swallow your argument.
Can I use personal or family examples?
Yes — the task explicitly invites examples from your own knowledge or experience. Keep them short and use them to illustrate a point you have already made in general terms, rather than letting the anecdote do the arguing.
Is it a problem if my essay agrees with the statement?
Not at all. There is no preferred answer and no penalty for agreeing. What is penalised is agreeing without engaging — restating the statement in different words for four paragraphs instead of giving reasons that could be disputed.
