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Academic IELTS Writing Tasks 1 and 2 Sample Essays

Dec 8, 2021

The table compares milk and butter purchases by age according to how much fat they contain. Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that younger people tend to consume less milk and butter, especially those under 25, though the fat content is highest for that group. The oldest age group appear to drink the most milk, mainly low fat, while those aged 45-65 eat the most butter.

 

Milk consumption for the under 25 group is lowest at 1,200ml, of which 59% is full fat and 41% low fat. This pattern is generally reversed for older people with individuals 26-45, 25-65, and 65+ drinking 1,650ml, 1,670ml, and 1,900ml, respectively. The fat content also is lower at 20% for 26-45, 45% for 45-65, and 30% for the oldest age bracket (and reciprocal figures for low fat consumption).

 

In terms of butter, younger people also consume the least at just 12g, in contrast to 19g for those 26-45, and triple that at 60g, and almost double at 30g for the two older groups in turn. Younger individuals similarly opt for a higher fat content (60% full fat to 40% low fat), while the older demographics have much lower proportions here (38% full fat for 26-45, and around 50% for everyone over 45).


TASK 2: 

CHILDREN AND SPORTS

 

Some people believe that children should do sports so that they will grow up as healthy adults, but others feel sports are just about enjoying yourself and not about learning to be healthy.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

 

Some feel that the primary reason young students should participate in sports is to establish healthy habits for adulthood, while others feel they do so simply for fun. In my opinion, the later health benefits are an added bonus and sports are mainly just an enjoyable pastime.

 

Administrators who argue sports are a means of ensuring healthy future habits believe school must be efficient. Sports are therefore no different from normal subjects such as the sciences and humanities in that they offer potential future benefit. While athletics are unlikely to become a career, they can at least form the basis of a lasting passion for, and understanding, of physical fitness. Such fitness not only guarantees higher quality of life but will also likely have a concomitant effect on healthcare, allowing governments to redeploy finite resources into other vital sectors.

 

Those who claim sports are simply for enjoyment argue that future aims should not be subordinate to the present moment. The entire purpose of education is to guarantee a higher standard of living and thus happiness. For most, playing sports achieves that goal on its own. Children enjoy playing a sport far more than most adults will savour any aspect of a comfortable life later on. If a school must choose between offering fun sports during P.E. lessons and educating children about physical fitness, it is counter-productive to choose the less enjoyable latter option. This desire to sacrifice current happiness for an often elusive future goal betrays an inflexible valuation of social stability above the desires of the individual.

 

 

In conclusion, despite the long-term advantages of sports, their inclusion in the curriculum can be justified purely for the enjoyment they engender. It is unnecessary for every single subject to have a clear future goal.

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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