IELTS writing task 2: Sample 27

Text Box

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.

Many childhood diseases can now be prevented through the use of vaccines.

Should parents be made by law to immunize their children against common diseases or should individuals have the right to choose not to immunize their children?

Write at least 250 words

Response: 1

Better safe than sorry, they always say. So why do parents hesitate when it comes to having their children vaccinated? Let us assess all angles of this argument before reaching a conclusion.

Parents' reasons for opposing the use of vaccines can vary. They may argue that they'd rather stick with home remedies than modern medicine- which is understandable, to an extent, considering the fact that modern medicine doesn't exactly have a flawless success rate. However, is not more reasonable to attack any sort of sickness head-on before it gets so bad that you're faced with unmanageable amounts of medical expenses because of the said sicknesses? Leaving a child vulnerable to a number of illnesses such as measles, mumps, chickenpox etc., not only puts the child at risk but also puts the entire society at risk, as well; seeing as vaccines are a means of avoidance of contagious diseases. I emphasise on my earlier statement: better safe than sorry.

Considering the opposing side of this argument, I think that a forceful approach would leave the parents in question angry or threatened, to say the least. A better approach would be to educate parents on the various advantages to having their children vaccinated. If more people got vaccinated against certain diseases, cases of these diseases would decrease almost completely in a society. Not only would immunization save the parents money, but it would also save their children the pain of having to suffer through diseases which could easily have been avoided if their parents had taken the necessary measures. No disease should be taken for granted.

Therefore, I conclude that parents should be given the choice of whether or not to have their children immunized; after, however, extensive educating on the subject, should the parents be uninformed on the subject of vaccines.

Written by Wardah Razzaq.