IELTS Writing Task 2 (Exercises) : DELAYED PARENTHOOD

Topic : DELAYED PARENTHOOD

Useful words and phrases:

1. a norm (n)
2. a sound foundation (n)
3. be ascribed to (collocation)
4. comprehensive education (collocation)
5. defer (v)
6. delayed parenthood (np)
7. excessive bleeding (collocation)
8. health risk (collocation)
9. interrupt (verb)
10. interruption (n)
11. irreparably damaged
12. maternal (adj); maternity (n)
13. prosperity (n)
14. prosperous (adj)
15. reap the benefits (collocation)
16. the prenatal and postnatal period
17. valid (adj)

Exercises:

Task 1: Write sentences from given cues. Make changes to the cues when needed

1. Increase/ violence domestic/ could/ ascribed/ number/social reason.
   ________________
2. Trend /delayed parenthood/ could/ leave/ gap /live/ older generation.
   ________________
3. Although /she /support/ delayed parenthood, birth/ her/ son/be/minor interruption/ her/career.
   ________________
4. She /study/ day and night/ reap/ benefit / exam time.
   ________________
5. Other/ do/ hard work/ you/ reap the benefit/ their/ labour.
   ________________
6. Risk/ vaccination/ small/ compare/ health risks/ associated/ disease/ they/ intend/ prevent.
   ________________
   Women/ have /minimal problem/ abnormal bleeding/ whereas/ others/ have unpredictable/ excessive bleeding.
   ________________
7. Future prosperity/ nation/ depend /level /education /it/ level; therefore the government should/ create/ every opportunity/ for /children/ get /education/ regardless/ their /family background.
   ________________
8. maternal leave/ could/ put /women / disadvantaged position/ due to /high possibility / losing job/ highcompetitive/ working /environment.
   ________________

Task 2: Fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases

a norm (n)	interrupt (verb)
a sound foundation (n)	interruption (n)
be ascribed to (collocation)	irreparably damaged
comprehensive education (collocation):	maternal (adj)
defer (v)	maternity (n)
delayed parenthood (np)	prosperity (n)
excessive bleeding (collocation)	prosperous (adj)
health risk (collocation)	reap the benefits (collocation)
valid (adj)	the prenatal and postnatal period

Nowadays, more and more people decide to have children later in their life.

What are the reasons? Is this a negative or positive trend?

In modern society, there has been a growing concern that many couples have 1___________This social trend could be 2___________a number of reasons, and I firmly believe that it is more of a negative rather than a positive phenomenon.

A few reasons can be given to justify the trend of giving birth at later stages of life. The primary reason is that the labour market is increasingly competitive, and it is 3___________that young parents 4___________having children to devote more of their time to lay 5___________for their future career. Another significant reason is that it is believed that children are raised better by older parents. This seems 6___________due to the fact that older fathers and mothers are generally wealthier, more experienced, and more willing to take the responsibility of bringing up a child.

I firmly believe that the negative aspects of this trend outweigh its positive ones. From a positive perspective, I agree with the belief that children born to more 7___________and experienced parents can receive more 8___________, and thus contribute more to society when they reach adulthood. In each household, the parents may also 9___________of this trend, as their first working years are not 10___________by pregnancy and childcare. However, I would contend that delayed parenthood is associated with a number of 11___________that are far more significant than the aforementioned advantages. When an aged couple decide to give birth, there are serious health risks for the woman in 12___________, such as 13___________after childbirth. If any complicated 14___________health problem arises, the life of whole family would be 15___________damaged.

To conclude, the tendency to have children at a later age is caused by a number of factors, such as the competitiveness of the job market for young adults. Although I accept that there are a few benefits of this trend, I am strongly of the opinion that the drawbacks are far more significant for future parents to consider.

342 words

Key/Answer

Task 1:

1. The increase in violence domestics could be ascribed to a number of social reasons
2. A trend in delayed parenthood could leave a gap in the lives of the older generation.
3. Although she supported the delayed parenthood, the birth of her son was a minor interruption to her career.
4. She studied day and night and reaped the benefit at the exam time.
5. Others have done the hard work and you reap the benefit of their labour.
6. The risks of vaccinations are small compared with the health risks associated with the diseases they’ve intended to prevent.
7. Some women have minimal problems with abnormal bleeding whereas others have unpredictable, excessive bleeding.
8. The future prosperity of a nation depends on the level of education of its’ level; therefore the government should create every opportunity for children to get education in regardless of their family background.
9. Maternal leave could put women in the disadvantaged position due to the high possibility of losing job in high-competitive working environment.

Task 2:

(1) delayed parenthood
(2) ascribed
(3) a norm
(4) defer
(5) a sound foundation
(6) valid
(7) prosperous
(8) comprehensive education
(9) reap the benefits
(10) interrupted
(11) health risks
(12) the prenatal and postnatal period
(13) excessive bleeding
(14) maternal
(15) irreparably