Responsibility Is a Skill, Not an Age: Writing an Essay on Being a Responsible Teenager

1Plan before you write

2A model essay

Question: What does it mean to be a responsible teenager? (about 400 words)

Responsibility Is a Skill, Not an Age

Adults often say that teenagers should "act responsibly", as if responsibility arrived automatically with a certain birthday. It does not. To be responsible is to own your choices and their effects, on yourself and on other people. In my view, a responsible teenager does three things: looks after himself or herself, keeps faith with other people, and gives something back to the community. None of these needs an adult's permission, which is why responsibility is best understood as a skill that is learned by practice.

The first responsibility is to yourself. A student who sleeps enough, eats properly and refuses cigarettes, alcohol and drugs is protecting a brain that, according to the World Health Organization, is still developing until the mid-twenties. Similarly, a student who draws up a revision timetable in October, instead of panicking in May, is taking charge of the one thing no teacher can do for her. Self-management is not selfish; it is the foundation for everything else.

Secondly, responsibility means keeping faith with others. This includes the obvious (arriving on time, returning what you borrow, telling the truth) and the difficult. When a friend is being pressured, harmed or abused, a responsible teenager does not keep the secret: he or she tells a trusted adult, because loyalty that allows a friend to be hurt is not loyalty at all. Respecting other people's choices and boundaries belongs here too.

Finally, a responsible teenager looks beyond his or her own circle. Clearing litter from the school compound, tutoring a younger pupil or joining an environment club costs little, yet it builds the habit of contributing, which the same young person will need as a voter, a worker and a neighbour.

Some argue that teenagers cannot be expected to behave responsibly until adults give them real freedom. There is some truth in this: people rise to the trust they are given. However, the argument puts things in the wrong order. Most of the actions described above require no one's permission, and it is precisely by doing them that teenagers earn the freedom they want.

In short, responsibility is not a gift handed over at eighteen but a set of habits built one decision at a time: caring for yourself, standing by others and contributing to the community. The teenager who practises them now will not need to be told to "act responsibly" later.

3Analyse the model

1. Underline the thesis statement. Which three parts does it promise, and in which paragraphs are they delivered?
2. Find the topic sentence of each body paragraph. Which linking word opens each?
3. In paragraph 2, find the evidence and the explanation. Where does the evidence come from?
4. How does the writer answer the counter-argument? Name the technique.
5. How does the conclusion echo the title without repeating it word for word?

Show answersHide answers

1. "In my view, a responsible teenager does three things: looks after himself or herself, keeps faith with other people, and gives something back to the community." Delivered in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.
2. "The first responsibility is to yourself." (The first) · "Secondly, responsibility means keeping faith with others." (Secondly) · "Finally, a responsible teenager looks beyond his or her own circle." (Finally)
3. Evidence: the WHO fact that the brain develops until the mid-twenties, and the example of a revision timetable. Explanation: self-management protects the student and is the foundation for everything else.
4. Concession then rebuttal: "There is some truth in this … However, the argument puts things in the wrong order."
5. "not a gift handed over at eighteen but a set of habits" restates "a skill, not an age" in new words.