ielts essay writing crime

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Crime & Punishment Essay Titles

IELTS Essay Questions for the Topic of Crime & Punishment. All essay questions below are reported by IELTS candidates and seem to have been repeated over the years. Regardless of the years the questions were reported, you could get any question below in your test. You should, therefore, prepare ideas for all questions given below. This topic is more likely to appear in the Academic test than the GT writing test. However, all candidates should prepare for all topics to be safe.

Crime & Punishment Essay Questions for IELTS Writing Task 2

The crime rate nowadays is decreasing compared to the past due to advance technology which can prevent and solve crime. Do you agree or disagree? (Reported 2017, 2021 Academic Test)

Many criminals commit further crimes as soon as they released from prison. What do you think are the causes of this? What possible solutions can you suggest? (Reported 2015, 2017, 2022 Academic Test)

It is often thought that the increase in juvenile crime can be attributed to violence in the media. Do you agree that this is the main cause of juvenile crime? What solutions can you offer to deal with this situation? (common question)

In some societies, the number of crimes committed by teenagers is growing. Some people think that regardless of age, teenagers who commit major crimes should receive adult punishment. To what extent do you agree? (2020, 2023)

Some countries are struggling with an increase in the rate of crime. Many people think that having more police on the streets is the only way to reduce crime. To what extent do you agree? (2018, 2020)

Some people think that women should not be allowed to work in the police force. Do you agree or disagree?

Many crimes are often related to the consumption of alcohol. Some people think that the best way to reduce the crime rate is to ban alcohol. Do you think this is an effective measure against crime? What other solutions can you suggest?

Some people think certain prisoners should be made to do unpaid community work instead of being put behind bars. To what extent do you agree? (Reported 2017, 2020, GT Test)

Many people believe that having a fixed punishment for all crimes is more efficient. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a fixed punishment? (common question)

Some people think that the government should be responsible for crime prevention, while others believe that it is the responsibility of the individual to protect themselves. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

The death penalty is the best way to control and reduce serious crime. To what extent do you agree? (2018, 2020)

While it is sometimes thought that prison is the best place for criminals, others believe that there are better ways to deal with them. What is your opinion? (common question – this is often reworded with a focus on the best ways to deal with criminals)

Crime rate, in most countries, is often higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Why do you think that is? What can be done to reduce the crime rate?

Some people think that poverty is the reason behind most crimes. Do you agree or disagree?

Internet crime is increasing rapidly as more and more people are using the internet to make financial transactions. What can be done to tackle this problem ?

Some people think that the parents of children who commit crime should also receive a punishment. Do you agree or disagree? (2020)

Reported essay questions are from students who have taken their IELTS test. That means questions may have appeared more frequently than have been reported. These questions may vary slightly in wording and focus from the original question. Also note that these questions could also appear in IELTS speaking part 3 which is another good reason to prepare all topics thoroughly.

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Crime and punishment IELTS model essay with vocabulary

Our band nine sample essays give you the opportunity to learn from successful essays that show off the best structure, vocabulary and grammar. This IELTS essay on crime and punishment explores the advantages and disadvantages of harsh punishment for criminals.

band Nine Sample Essay

In some countries, crimes are punished harshly. what are some advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

Several nations have opted to implement a system of strict penalties, such as long jail sentences and execution, for crimes. In this essay, I will explore the advantage that this is a good deterrent with the disadvantage that this harms rehabilitation .

Punitive measures can help deter future crime. If people can see that crimes will be punished harshly, they are far less likely to want to commit a crime . Because people consider risk versus reward before acting, making crime as risky as possible by increasing punishment can stop criminals. Conversely, when countries have light punishments for crimes like shoplifting , people in those countries might feel like it is worth the risk to do these crimes.

However, these strong punishments also increase recidivism by failing to rehabilitate people. One of the main purposes of sending people to prison is to prevent them from committing crimes when they leave; however, making prisons and other punishments too strict works against this purpose. When criminals have a heavily punitive experience, they lose self-confidence and become distrustful of authority , meaning they are more likely to be involved in crime when they leave prison. Alternatively, if prisoners have access to training and support, such as drug rehabilitation programs and anger management classes, they are far more likely to rejoin society in a productive way.

In conclusion, the correct punishment for crimes is a complex issue. On the one hand, strong measures deter crime; on the other hand, the same measures make it more likely for prisoners to reoffend .

crime and punishment vocabulary

Although crime and punishment is a common topic in the IELTS exam, there, thankfully, is not too much vocabulary you need to know for it. Let’s take a look at some of the high level vocabulary in this answer to kick start your learning.

50 Latest Crimes IELTS Topics

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Sample Essay on Rising Crime Rates

Posted by David S. Wills | Nov 21, 2022 | Model Essays | 0

There are many common IELTS topics that you frequently see in task 2 of the writing test, and one of those is the topic of crime. Today, we are going to look at a sample essay relating to this subject and I’ll point out some useful ideas in terms of vocabulary and structure.

Analysing the Question

Before you start any IELTS essay, you should spend a moment thinking about the question. This is important because sometimes they can be trickier than they initially appear.

Here’s our question for today:

In many countries, the level of crime is increasing and crimes are becoming more violent. Why do you think this is and what can be done about it?

Fortunately, this is not a difficult question. The meaning is pretty straightforward and I think most people could grasp what they need to do. Ultimately, you need to do two things:

Say why crime is increasing in frequency and level of violence
Suggest some solutions to this problem

This is what’s known as either a “ cause and solution essay ” or “problem and solution essay.” Either way, you have two parts – either a cause or a problem and then a solution to that problem.

It is important you don’t focus only on one part. Also, in this particular question, don’t overlook the fact that it’s about both rising crime levels and rising violence levels.

Generating Ideas

This isn’t the easiest question to answer. Actually, it took me a while to think of some good ideas for it because, to the best of my knowledge, crime (and especially violent crime) has actually been decreasing in recent decades! Look at this line graph:

Of course, that’s just for Western Europe, and in some parts of the world the opposite trend can be observed. Here, we can see that some places have, sadly, seen a rise in homicides (that means the same as murder):

Considering the question, I had to think creatively. In those places that I don’t really know about, what factors could have caused rising crime levels and in particular rising violent crime rates?

To answer questions like this, it’s not enough just to be good at English. You need to have a good general knowledge and that means you should read widely, listen to podcasts, watch the news, and become an informed world citizen.

I have a whole article on learning to generate great ideas for IELTS essays.

Structuring your Essay

When it comes to cause and solution essays, I typically structure them like this:

There may be other great ways to structure your essay, but this is my preference. It allows me to write sample answers quickly and effectively, putting forth my position as clearly as possible in a very short time.

Think about it: You have two things to write, so why not put one in each of your body paragraphs? Simple!

I will structure this essay as follows:

In this sort of essay, it can be hard to write an introduction and in particular an essay outline . That’s because you aren’t putting forth any opinion and instead you’re hinting at the ideas that you will explain later.

I want to make clear in my essay that this is not an easy situation to explain and that it will also be hard to fix! Don’t worry. You can be honest. It’s better to give a nuanced explanation than to simply say, “We need the government to solve it.” That is simplistic and lacks intelligence.

Finally, remember to include a conclusion that summarises your ideas without repeating them.

Vocabulary about Crime

I have a whole article on the IELTS topic of crime and punishment . It gives lots of vocabulary and even includes a helpful video that can make learning more interesting!

In this essay, I will use the following words and phrases:

Remember that you can always learn more crime-related vocabulary by searching on Google News or just reading the newspaper each day. I highly recommend that you check out websites such as BBC News and The Guardian . You will see a lot of articles about crime there.

Sample Band 9 Answer

In some parts of the world, crime rates are increasing and the types of crime are becoming more violent. This can be attributed to urbanisation and the deterioration of traditional values and, in order to fix it, societies will need to work to give people more opportunities.

Whilst crimes rates are plummeting in most parts of the world, in some places they are on the rise. Obviously, the reasons for this depend on the individual location, but generally it seems to happen because people are moving from traditional ways of living to big cities. The problem is that, in small communities, people have purpose and accountability. In other words, a young man would be known by all the people in his village and have a job to do in order to contribute to that society. However, when the village disbands and he goes to the big city, it is not easy to make a good living. He might become part of a gang or become addicted to drugs. Without accountability and in the comparatively anonymous environment of the big city, he could easily become engaged in desperate and violent crimes.

Fixing this sort of problem is never easy, but there are various approaches. Certainly, it helps to improve policing but perhaps the problem can be stopped at its root if people are given more education and opportunity. These people would likely not turn to crime if they were supported as part of a community. Again, this is not an easy thing to facilitate, but it is possible through different approaches. Ultimately, the aim needs to be maintaining social values and giving people a sense of responsibility and purpose. When people have these things, they are much less likely to engage in violent crimes.

In conclusion, there are myriad reasons for crime rates increasing but perhaps urbanisation and the loss of traditional values are to blame. Giving people purpose and making them accountable for their own actions could counteract this.

As I mentioned above, I felt surprised that this question talked about rising crime rates but it does make sense when you think that certain countries or parts of countries are indeed experiencing this problem. Thus, I tried to put my feelings forward with careful explanations.

You will see that my body paragraphs are quite complex. That’s because this is not a simple topic. I don’t feel it’s possible to get a band 9 for Task Response without explaining just how complex the causes and solutions to crime are. It is not an easy issue to discuss.

You will see that I’ve avoided any bizarre vocabulary. Long-term readers of this blog will know that such an approach is not helpful. The best thing is to use the right word, whatever that may be. Aim for accuracy rather than obscurity.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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IELTS band 9 essay: death penalty

Here you can find advice how to structure IELTS essay and IELTS model answer for death penalty topic. Question type: advantages and disadvantages .

Here is the question card:

Some people advocate death penalty for those who committed violent crimes. Others say that capital punishment is unacceptable in contemporary society.

Describe advantages and disadvantages of death penalty and give your opinion.

So this is the advantage/disadvantage essay. In this essay you're asked about :

Advantages of capital punishment
Disadvantages of capital punishment
Your opinion about it

Before writing this IELTS essay, you should decide what’s your opinion and then choose your arguments to describe pros and cons of death penalty. You don’t have to make up very complicate ideas. Even simple, but well-written arguments can often give you a band 9 for writing .

Some of the possible arguments :

Disadvantages of capital punishment :
we have no rights to kill other humans
innocent people can be killed because of unfair sentences
even criminals deserve a second chance
Advantages of capital punishment :
it prevents major crimes
it restores equilibrium of justice
it lessens expenses on maintenance of prisoners

How to structure my answer?

Surely, there are a lot of ways to organise this essay. But here is one possible way of structuring the answer to produce a band 9 essay :

Introduction : rephrase the topic and state your opinion.

Body paragraphs :

paragraph 1: disadvantages of death penalty
paragraph 2: advantages of death penalty

Conclusion : sum up the ideas from body paragraphs and briefly give your opinion.

Band 9 essay sample (death penalty)

Many people believe that death penalty is necessary to keep security system efficient in the society. While there are some negative aspects of capital punishment, I agree with the view that without it we will become more vulnerable to violence.

Death penalty can be considered unsuitable punishment for several reasons. The strongest argument is that we have no rights to kill other humans. Right to live is the basic right of any human being, and no one can infringe this right, irrespective of the person’s deeds. Moreover, innocent people can face wrongful execution. Such unfair sentences take away lives of innocent people and make other citizens lose faith in law and justice. And besides, sometimes criminals repent of their acts. In this case they should be given a second chance to improve themselves.

However, I believe that capital punishment is necessary in the society. Firstly, it is an effective deterrent of major crimes. The best method to prevent a person from committing crime is to show the consequences of his or her actions. For example, the government of Pakistan has controlled the rate of terrorism by enforcing death penalties for the members of terrorist organisations. Secondly, the governments spend large sums of national budget on maintenance of prisoners. Instead, this money can be used for the development of the society and welfare of the people.

To sum up, although capital punishment has some disadvantages, I think that it proves to be the best way of controlling criminals, lessening governmental expenses and preventing other people from doing crimes.

(257 words)

Useful vocabulary

capital punishment = death penalty

to commit a crime - to do a crime

deterrent of major crimes - something that prevents big crimes

to face wrongful execution - to be mistaken for a criminal and killed for that

to infringe someone’s right - restrict someone’s right, hurt someone’s interests

innocent people - people who are not guilty or responsible for crimes

to repent of something - to feel sorry for something

right to live is basic right of any human being

unfair sentence - not fair judgement

COMMENTS

50 Latest Crime IELTS Topics - Writing9
Crime. 50 Latest Crime IELTS Topics. Get a band score and detailed report instantly. Check your IELTS essays right now! Read more » multiple. The line graph and pie chart below show information on crime in the UK for the last year. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Crime & Punishment Essay Titles - IELTS Liz
Some people think that the government should be responsible for crime prevention, while others believe that it is the responsibility of the individual to protect themselves. Discuss both sides and give your opinion. The death penalty is the best way to control and reduce serious crime.
Crime and punishment IELTS model essay with vocabulary
This IELTS essay on crime and punishment explores the advantages and disadvantages of harsh punishment for criminals. Our band nine sample essays give you the opportunity to learn from successful essays that show off the best structure, vocabulary and grammar.
Crime and Punishment [IELTS Topics] - TED IELTS
Task 1 – Crime-related Essays. For IELTS writing task 1, it is also possible that you could have to describe data about crime. This is harder to predict because it really could be about almost anything, but here is an example of a line graph about various types of criminal activity:
IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer: Crime and the Police ...
This is an IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample Answer from the real IELTS exam about the topic of crime, which comes up frequently on the test. These questions are really common in the writing test and can come up on IELTS speaking as well.
IELTS Essay: Solution to Crime - How to do IELTS
IELTS Essay: Solution to Crime. Prison is the common way most countries try to solve the problem of crime. However, a more effective solution is to provide the public a better education. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
50 Latest Crimes IELTS Topics - Writing9
50 Latest Crimes IELTS Topics. Get a band score and detailed report instantly. Check your IELTS essays right now! Read more ». Opinion. In some countries, people who commit less serious crimes are made to undertake community service instead of a prison sentence.
Sample Essay on Rising Crime Rates - TED IELTS
There are many common IELTS topics that you frequently see in task 2 of the writing test, and one of those is the topic of crime. Today, we are going to look at a sample essay relating to this subject and I’ll point out some useful ideas in terms of vocabulary and structure.
IELTS Topic: Crime - How to do IELTS
Crime Essays & Topics. Some people think technology development decreases crime, while others believe it actually encourages crime. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Read my essay here. Some believe that new science related to criminal forensics should be used to look at old cases.
IELTS Writing band 9 sample: death penalty - IELTS-up
Learn how give a band 9 answer for IELTS Writing question: advantages and disadvantages of death penalty. The answer is supported with detailed explanations and IELTS band 9 vocabulary.