GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 187
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Some people view teenage conflict with their parents as a necessary part of growing up, whilst others see it as something negative which should be avoided.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Adolescence is a stage of rapid psychological and biological changes, which have an obvious impact on parent-child relationships, and sometimes lead to ambivalence. Many people deem parent-adolescent conflict as an essential part of teenagers’ development, while others consider it as detrimental which should be averted. This essay will delineate both notions, and then come up with an opinion.
To commence with, parent-child disagreement is a normal part of growing up, according to some. During the teenage period, many changes take place among youths and that have been attributed to teenagers’ cognitive and biological maturation. Hormonal changes pertinent to puberty are deemed to drive adolescents to strive for freedom and individuation from their parents, which in turn, provoke conflicts with parents that pave the way to form egalitarian and mature relationships. Aside from autonomy and individuation, the onus is on the parents to help their offspring comprehend the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and what it means to be polite to others. In the quest to inculcate these values, there will inevitably be times when adolescents resist or parents miscommunicate. Therefore, parent-adolescent conflict is an essential part of growing up which imprints many valuable lessons to both parties.
On the other hand, many argue that parent-child conflict should be avoided as it can damage the precious relationship. They go on arguing that this kind of conflict causes acute emotional distress and a significant disconnection between parents and adolescents. This happens when parents lose control of their emotion and engage in screaming or threatening behaviour towards their children. Besides, parent-child relationships serve as a schema from which other interpersonal relationships are developed. Consequently, the quality of parent-adolescent relationships likely influences adolescents’ emotional and social development by offering a convention from which to develop sound interpersonal relationships around different social contexts. It is therefore important that these conflicts should be prevented as much as possible.
To conclude, although parent-child conflicts may deteriorate the relationship that exists between parents and children, I wholeheartedly believe that parent-adolescent conflicts open up the path to adolescents to become truly mature and learn important lessons.