Many elderly people are no longer looked after by their families but are put in care homes or nursing homes. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

It is increasingly common for families to send their elderly relatives to live in nursing homes, rather than take care of them at their own.
This
essay will highlight some of the benefits and drawbacks that have resulted from
this
switch. Looking
firstly
at the positives, a significant advantage is that those homes are often much better equipped to deal with the demands of elderly people than family homes.
For example
, nursing homes do not usually have stairs, and for those which do, stair lifts or elevators need to be installed.
This
means that the typical mobility problems which tend to appear among geriatrics are not exacerbated. Not only
this
, but the staff who work in nursing homes have been professionally trained to manage the needs of the elderly. Family members usually do not possess these skills.
However
, long-stay facilities for the elderly
also
present some disadvantages, the most obvious of which is the lack of loved ones around.
Although
it is possible for friends and relatives to visit nursing home residents, these visits can be infrequent, and loneliness are often the consequence. To make matters worse, it has been shown that those who are lonely are at greater risk of becoming depressed and having their immune system weakened.
Furthermore
, care home residents are often surrounded by illness and death.
Such
an environment is likely to curtail happiness and trigger severe depression. In conclusion, despite the benefits of specially-trained staff and well-equipped facilities that nursing homes can offer the elderly, the drawbacks of loneliness and its concomitant depression should
also
be taken into consideration.
Submitted by deborazevedo on

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Include an introduction and conclusion

A conclusion is essential for IELTS writing task 2. It is more important than most people realise. You will be penalised for missing a conclusion in your IELTS essay.

The easiest paragraph to write in an essay is the conclusion paragraph. This is because the paragraph mostly contains information that has already been presented in the essay – it is just the repetition of some information written in the introduction paragraph and supporting paragraphs.

The conclusion paragraph only has 3 sentences:

  • Summary
  • Restatement of thesis
  • Prediction or recommendation

Example:

To summarize, a robotic teacher does not have the necessary disciple to properly give instructions to students and actually works to retard the ability of a student to comprehend new lessons. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of running a classroom completely by a machine cannot be supported. After thorough analysis on this subject, it is predicted that the adverse effects of the debate over technology-driven teaching will always be greater than the positive effects, and because of this, classroom teachers will never be substituted for technology.

Start your conclusion with a linking phrase. Here are some examples:

  • In conclusion
  • To conclude
  • To summarize
  • Finally
  • In a nutshell
  • In general

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • Professional care
  • Medical attention
  • Trained staff
  • Social interaction
  • Combat loneliness
  • Safety and security
  • Relief for families
  • Loss of autonomy
  • Emotional impact
  • Cost
  • Financial strain
  • Quality of care
  • Neglect and abuse
  • Detachment from family
  • Mental wellbeing
What to do next:
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