IELTS Essay 183 - Which do you prefer - planning or not planning for leisure time

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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.   

Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. Others choose not to make any plans at all for their free time. Compare the benefits of planning free-time activities with the benefits of not making plans.

Which do you prefer - planning or not planning for your leisure time?

Use specific reasons and examples to explain your choice.

You should write at least 250 words.


 

Model Answer 1:
It is a fact that every individual spends his/her free time differently, as a group of people choose to spend their leisure time without any plan at all, while others prefer to spend it with agenda and schedule. Planned or unplanned leisure activities have their own positive sides but I prefer to have a planned free time activity and the following essay will discuss them in detail.

To begin with, some people prefer to spend their leisure activities freely, without any schedules. They believe that free time activities should be totally different from their daily activities, whereas they are full of routine activities, tight deadlines and busy schedules. They believe that leisure time should be spent doing anything they like doing that time, and they could do it as long as they like. For example, some people prefer sunbath activity at the beach during holiday periods, and they prefer to do it without any time limit. They will end their sunbathing activities after they are satisfied.

For a number of reasons, another group of people believe that free time activities would be more effective and efficient if they plan them. Firstly, by doing some preparation, they already have the agenda for the day on what to do, what to see and how will they travel to those places, therefore they could visit more attractive and unique places during their holiday time.  Secondly, a planned holiday would definitely save more budgets. People who planned their holiday time could book airline tickets and accommodations from an earlier period.  As a result, they get cheaper prices for aeroplane tickets and the hotel's room rate as well.

In conclusion, it is a fact that some people prefer to plan their holiday or leisure time, while others choose not to plan it. Each side has its own advantages, but I personally choose to have a planned holiday time, as I could see more attractive places during that time and save more money.

[ Written by Darwin Lesmana]


 

Model Answer 2:
Nowadays people have so many things to do that they almost always do not have enough time for it. When we go to bed we carefully think and plan our next day and it continues day in and day out. We wake up, recollect our checklist with things to do and in a few minutes, we are already in a car on our way to the office. Often people do not have time for themselves. So, when people have some spare time they want to use it wisely. Some people prefer to plan activities for their free time very carefully. However, others prefer not to make any plans. In this essay, I will analyse both cases and present my view in favour of planning free-time activities.

On the one side, not making any plans and just letting the time pass by for some time have some benefits. First of all, a person can just relax, enjoy the beautiful moments, spend his or her time with loved ones, watch a movie, listen to relaxing music, observe the flowers in bloom from the window, contemplate about his or her life and just slow down the pace of life. I think it is a very good way to eliminate one's stress and tension and just leave all troubles and worries behind.

On the other side, careful planning can bring many benefits too. First of all, one can travel. However, travelling requires some planning to be made. For example, one most likely will need a hotel room. So, the reservation should be made beforehand. Also, it is wise to check one's car to avoid breakdowns and have an uninterrupted worry-free trip. Second of all, planning one's activities allows spending one's free time the way he/she likes. For instance, if I want to play tennis on the coming weekend I will certainly make a reservation for a court because in this case I will not be disappointed with the waste of my time. Personally, I prefer to make plans for my free time because it allows me to spend my vacation or weekends the way I want it.

To conclude, I think careful planning allows people to derive maximum benefits from their free time. However, I must confess sometimes I allow myself just to stay at home with my friends and family and not make any plans.

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Eric
Some people plan for their free time activities well ahead of time while many others make no plan at all for their free time. I prefer not to make any plans at all for my free time for the following reasons.

First of all, I am not always sure when and how much free time I will have. So planning well in advance is not a solid option for me. As a university student, I often have exams, assignments and other academic activities that take a variable amount of time and are not always fixed. I am often not sure how much time I will take to finish certain academic activities or studies either. For example, the other day, I thought I could finish my math homework in 1 hour, so I planned for the next 30 minutes of free time. However, the homework took me 2 hours, and I had no free time, and I was even late to attend a class. Thus planning everything for leisure is not an option for me.

Second, free time is free time, and it is not a routined activity. To define free time, free time is the time that we can do our hobbies freely. So, it is opposite to our daily planned time. However, if we plan the free time, it becomes a planned time that is not free time, in my opinion. That is ironic. So, we should spend free time freely, not planned.

Third, people can just relax in their free time if it is not planned. To explain, free time should be different than planned time, and later one makes you feel tense. So, we should get rid of these tensions which make us feel more stressed, and just relax and rest at free time.

That is why I think I prefer not to make any plans at all for my free time because we could not ensure when and how much free time we have, free time is free time, not planned time, and people can just relax in their free time if it is not planned.
Meghna
For model 1, I believe it has drifted from the main topic; it's extended and the development of the focused topic has been moved to holidaying, rather it should have been sticking to free time planned.
Kristie
I think the admin of this website is working very hard in favour of the IELTS Candidates. Great work.
Shayna
This is a very good website.
Busra Cangut
Nowadays, people's lifestyle is busier than ever due to the modern society and its lifestyle. There is not enough time for them to do their work or take care of other responsibilitie s. Therefore, planning has now become more important than it was in the past. Some people believe that planning activities for their free time must be carefully done, while others disagree. I always prefer planning my regular activities as well as leisure activities. Planning is of vital importance for all activities. There are numerous reasons why I subscribe to this idea. The first reason that I would like to mention is that with a plan, people are able to accomplish a lot of different things in the course of a regular day. This means that a plan would allow us to manage our lives so that we could work more efficiently. In a similar fashion, leisure time activity should be planned to enjoy it. Unplanned leisure activities can sometimes bring drawbacks. What is more, it provides us with a system to rank our tasks in order of importance so that nothing will be forgotten or overlooked. It goes without saying that a plan leads us along the path to achievement and is crucial for success. The main reason that I have found which illustrates the aversion that some people have towards planning is the restriction that it imposes upon their lives. They feel more comfortable without having to depend upon a specific plan. For example, my sister never makes plans. She always tells me that the lack of planning leads her to feel more carefree and independent. Last year, we took a trip to New York in order to visit friends. She refused to let me make any plans - not even for scheduling a regular day. After that, we travelled when- ever and where- ever we wanted to go. This was only possible because we did not restrict our activities by following a plan. However, it also brought us a catastrophe. We had to miss our train twice, we ran out of our money and had to wire our parents for that and finally, we had missed some important places to visit that we regretted later on. In conclusion, I believe that making a plan is a good idea for most people. It allows us to accomplish more work in our daily lives and helps us to remember the duties which need to be performed. On the other hand, I realise that travelling without a plan makes us feel less restricted and more independent, but that might also bring negative experiences. Overall, I believe that making a plan is a favourable thing and that most people could derive benefits from following one.