Task 2

[Wayfarer]

Topic: In many countries children are engaged in some kind of paid work. Some people regard this as completely wrong, while others consider it as valuable work experience, important for learning and taking responsibility. What are your opinions on this?

In our modern society, parents are usually responsible for sustaining their children financially. Nonetheless, there appears to be dozens of children getting employed in a paid job. While it has some benefits in terms of early job experience and extra cash, it may also have a negative impact on child’s academic progress.
From the one perspective, any job acquired in childhood will be a vital experience for a child in his adulthood. This is because money he is so willing to make will cost him a lot of efforts, as a child without qualification can usually work as a waiter in restaurant or an assistant in a shop. Since neither of them is easy task to undertake, the kid will receive a crucial lesson that a reward has to be earned. Take a multi billionaire Donald Trump as a prime example. In 1946, when he was born in United States during a recession, his father did not have a capital that he had had prior to war. Therefore, a young Donald was employed as a cashier in a nearby café where he obtained a significant experience that changed his life. In fact, today Donald owns a multitude of cafes, restaurants and even a TV show, although to some extent his prosperity can be attributed to his first job.
On the contrary, as everything has its own time, a child should concern himself with his studies, rather than expending his time on a job. Indeed, children’s mental capabilities are inconsistent with those of adults, since it is complicated for them to compartmentalize their lives, with a school on one side and a full-time job on another. Thus, children who possess a regular job might be unwilling to study which in turn will deteriorate their academic success. A relevant example would be kids in poor countries of Africa. Because they are obligated to work in order to support their families with money, they have a very low attendance to school. As they grow up they realize the absence of rudimentary knowledge which had to be gained in school. As a result, most of them abandon their previous objectives to pursue their studies in university.
To sum up briefly, a paid job can both benefit and disadvantage children who have already embarked upon earning. In my opinion, a truly right approach would be to combine both and work in moderation so that it does not encroach upon academic progress.

[David.IELTS.Examiner]

Hi Wayfarer!
Good essay! I think that you could have mentioned the time factor more explicitly, e.g how much time might a child be able to work.
In the conclusion, you say 'combine both'. Not sure what you mean there.
All the best,
David