You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present a written argument to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic:
In many countries, the proportion of older people is steadily increasing. Does this trend have more positive or negative effects on the society?
What is your opinion on that?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
With the advancement of science and medicine, people are enjoying a longer life than before and in many countries, people are well aware of the population growth and as a result having only one kid or two. These reasons lead the fact that in many countries, the proportion of older people is growing faster. This has both the positive and negative effects.
At first, older people are more experienced and can contribute largely by counselling the young generation. There are some professions like teaching where an experienced teacher can be more benevolent than a young teacher. Again, older people are the witness of the history and they can reveal the past to us more practically than others. Finally, since young members of a family are busy outside and cannot manage time to share with kids, so the older people can be good companions to those kids and can help them to raise in a family environment rather than in a day-care- centre.
On the contrary, in some society older people are considered to be burden especially in those areas where people suffer from extreme poverty. Older people require more attention and extra care and the touch of relatives. But because of generation gap and poverty, they are often ignored and that’s a horrible experience for them. Again, naturally aged people can’t do much physical labour and that’s why they have fewer practical contributions to the society compared to their young counterparts.
Considering all the issues , though it might seem little harsh but I think that a considerable portion of older people can be helpful for all of us but if it’s reach to an extreme proportion then it’s a bad omen both for the new generation and the old people themselves.
(Approximately295words)
Model Answer 2:
Thanks to the technological and scientific advancements, people’s lives have become significantly progressed, particularly in improving human health with the most modern applications and effective treatments. It is inevitable that the remarkable increase in life expectancy has been a phenomenon in many countries as well as impacted both positively and negatively on their societies.
Older adults have been appreciated as the valuable and essential resource to their communities with material and immaterial contributions which benefit the younger. The increased longevity might create many time opportunities for those who still eager to pursue their working or researching passion for societal development, encouraging the young generations to inherit and attempt more for further success. The retirement age has been adjusted in most of working fields in order that the elderly can work longer with their contributing expectation, particularly the working year maximum of 60 for men and that of 55 for women.
In spite of significant values that the elderly can bring to the society, there are some negative implications which might put the government and the whole community under financial and healthcare pressure. The more people retire, the heavier pension burden the state has to carry. After a certain period of time for working, whether their living standards are better, they still have right to receive social welfare from their government. Therefore, many countries consequently take more consideration into budget distribution for this section. Additionally, the increasing amount of older adults is more likely to exacerbate overpopulation worldwide, which will lead to many overloaded facilities as hospitals, retirement homes and housing provision.
The constant proliferation in the ageing population has been obviously creating both benefits and burdens to their societies. Therefore, the government in every country should implement aging-friendly policies and efficient programs so as to mitigate this issue’s negative influences and still progress people’s standards of living.
[ Approximately 306 words | Written by – Hong Nhung ]
Model Answer 3:
It is true that in some countries the number of senior people is growing steadily. It is undeniable that the issue has some benefits and drawbacks, but I personally believe that it has more drawbacks and the following essay will discuss them in details.
On the one hand, the increasing number of older people in a country shows some positive aspects. Firstly, it means that the healthcare system in the country is quite high, the economic condition of the people is better and citizens have a better lifestyle than those in other countries. Senior people with better economic conditions are able to purchase healthier foods and consume enough vitamins, which are essential for maintaining their health level. Secondly, it also shows that the government has successfully provided a better medication for the senior people. As the quality of the public health services improves, it means that more and more old people are being fairly treated. Consequently, they could maintain their health level and have a longer life expectancy. Some sectors like teaching, research and politics require extensive experience and the older people in such countries can contribute to these sectors.
On the other hand, the growing number of senior citizens also has some negative consequences. As the number of the old people increases, the government has to provide a higher budget for retirement houses and medical services. These funds are collected from taxes from other citizens. If the ratio of older people increases in a country, then the percentage of working class people decreases and that has a direct impact on the economic progress of the country. Lastly, the country will also face population density problem. As the medication and health facilities improve, the mortality rate of the country also increase, and it would cause a serious population problem for the country.
In conclusion, despite all the advantages, increasing number of senior people in a country has some disadvantages as well. I personally believe that a country should focus on maintaining a balanced ratio for the population of different age groups.
[ Written by – Darwin Lesmana ]