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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

You have been asked to write about the following topic.

Some people believe that children's leisure activities must be educational, otherwise they are a complete waste of time.

Do you agree or disagree?

You should write at least 250 words.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your experience.

Today, education has become a priority for many parents seeking to secure a good future for their children in this rapidly changing world. They believe that if their children apply themselves and work hard at school, then they will increase their opportunities for going to higher education and eventually getting a good job. Of course, they are right, and as access to the best education and best jobs is becoming more competitive, then it is true that children have to make the best of their study time when they are young.

However, the parents who do not allow their children sufficient free time for leisure activities outside school hours are misguided. Such activities are far from being a waste of time for the children simply because they are not academic. It is important to remember that children need to develop skills other than intellectual ones, and the best way to do this is through activities such as sports, games and playing with other kids. If they cannot play make-believe games, how can they develop their imagination? How can they learn physical coordination or learn important social lessons about winning and losing if they do not practise any sports? Many children form strong, personal relationships with the friends they play with, and without the opportunity to do this, they could grow up emotionally immature or unformed.

Finally, I think it is also important to remember that, children need to relax as well as work. If everything they do must have some educational or academic relevance, then they will soon get tired of studying altogether, which is the last thing parents would want.

Model Answer 2:
The manner in which children spent their free time varies greatly from one to another. It is argued that pupils should be involved in tasks  which are related to education in this period. However, I believe that utilising spare interval performing physical activities and watching television will help recuperate their health and concentration.

To begin with, young people are required to perform body movements for improving their physical abilities. A good illustration for this is the activity planned in the school timetable which always include some periods dedicated to sports. As a result, they are forced to get involved in the activities which require motion resulting in maintaining their fitness level. Thus, it is apparent that doing such exercises will contribute towards the physical development of a child.

In addition, continuous focus towards studies can result in the problems related to the concentration. For instance, if a student is asked to perform an educational task in his extra time also, there are chances that he might start feeling frustrated with studies. Instead, if he utilises this span for watching television, he can feel relaxed and thereby, he will be more attentive when he starts learning again. Therefore, it is obvious that such breaks will help them to enhance the attention level.

In conclusion, getting engrossed in activities other than education not only helps to improve the health but also fosters the mental fitness. Thus, this clearly debunks the idea that pupils should only perform tasks which aim towards the acquisition of knowledge in order to avoid wasting time. It is expected that parents will be made aware of the advantages of spending free moments doing other tasks for the children in the foreseeable future.

Model Answer 3:
In the past, children had more leisure time to do various types of activities such as playing games, walking in the parks and gossiping with others. But, now they have no free time due to the fact that this world is becoming more competitive in terms of educational activities. While I cogitate that this policy has some benefits, I believe that children should allow using their free time, and it has more advantages.

On the one hand, there are some effective conveniences to the student life when they will occupy with study instead of wasting time by playing, walking, and gossiping. Firstly, by spending time with educational activities is one of the significant trends because students can increase their knowledge with this habit. This could result immense advantages to the students whenever they will confront their future life. Secondly, in some countries, it is not easy to get admitted in colleges or universities without sound academic results. So students who want to be a part of tertiary education in these countries need to learn whenever they get any time. For instance, many countries like Sudan have few universities although they have a vast number of students. From the above explanation, it is apparent that children should utilise their time properly.

On the other hand, it can be argued why kids require free time to spend their own ways. One important point is that the children, who expend their leisure time with play and other extracurricular activities, they can improve their mental as well as physical growth. As an example, if the students play cricket and football, they can learn leadership, responsibility, and so on. Another important point is that the practical knowledge of the students will increase if they involve with some extracurricular activities. As an example, many famous scientists like Einstein was always engaging with extracurricular activities rather than studying. This example makes it explicit that children should permit to use free time in order to increase their intelligence.

In conclusion, it is consequential that children need to play besides the study in order to increase their basic knowledge. I deem that students should bestow some free time to use their own way that would be augmented to their bright future. 

Model Answer 4:
Children should spend quality time in extra curricular activities apart from the study. Some people think that leisure activities must include educational programs while some others including me, think that we do not require mixing up education with leisure activities.

According to some people, if children have to learn faster and efficiently, they should include some educational programs as part of their extra activities. They think that by keeping them busy in such kind of activities we can help improving their skills and students become more active in their studies.

As per my opinion, we should draw a line between the student's education and his extra activities. Both of them should not be mixed up. Students nowadays have lengthy course work to study entire year. They hardly manage time for their extra activities and so if we include educational activities as part of their leisure activities then they may feel bored. They also require changes in their routined-life and by providing some new creative tasks in their free time it is possible to make them refreshed and relaxed. I think that it also helps to improve their skills that actually require for their educational programs.

Moreover, engaging children in activities like singing, dancing, painting etc. improves their thinking power and creativity. By participating in these types of activities, students can know their inner ability and strength. Also, some of the physical activities like sports and exercise keep them fit and healthy and help them to maintain their physical strength. One of the good examples I want to mention is the summer camp. In summer camps, mostly children explore different sports and creative activities that actually increase their self-confidence and keep them relaxed and cool.

To draw the conclusion, we should not force children to engage in the leisure activities which we want them to do. Let them decide on their own which activities suit them most.

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