In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities. It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

(Sample IELTS Essays)

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Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Discuss this question with a partner:

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Your teacher will give you 7 strips of paper.  Put the essay in order by matching these strips to the descriptions below.

Introduction Introduce the problem, and state what the two alternatives are.

Topic sentence for first body paragraph:  Introduce one of the two alternatives.

Supporting arguments for first body paragraph. In this particular case, the writer has chosen to argue by analogy.  (An analogy is when you say something is similar to something else.)

More supporting points for the first body paragraph. The writer follows from the analogy to say how the analogy should be relevant in real life.

Topic sentences for the second body paragraph. Introduce a contrasting idea.

Supporting points for the second body paragraph.

Conclusion. In the conclusion of a “for-and-against” essay, the author states their own opinion.

In discussing how to reduce crime, there are two main approaches of how to deal with this problem –prevention or cure.  We can either spend money on more police and prisons in order to control crime, or we can look carefully at why people commit crimes and then attack the causes of the crime.

The argument in favor of reducing crime by attacking the causes of crime is that prevention is better than cure.

Crime is like a disease.  People can either have a vaccination, which means they don’t develop the disease, or they can take some medicine or antibiotics after they have the disease which will hopefully cure it.  Surely it’s best not to get the disease in the first place!

Following this argument, we need to understand why people commit crimes so the government can develop a strategy to help solve the problems before they become too great.

On the other side of the argument, many people believe that crime can only be reduced by fear and control.

If potential criminals know that the police force is excellent, they won’t commit crimes because they know they will probably go to prison.  Similarly, if they know that all criminals are severely punished with long prison sentences, they will think twice before committing a crime.

In conclusion, I think we need to be hard on criminals, but also hard on the causes of crime.  Some people who are very rich and have been given a lot of opportunities in life still commit crime (not paying taxes, for example), so I don’t think we can successfully reduce crime only by focusing on the causes of crime.

In order to reduce crime, we need to attack the causes of crime such as poverty and lack of educational opportunities.  It is not enough to simply have more police on the street and put more people into prison.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Paragraph 1: Introduce the topic and briefly give both sides of the argument Paragraph 2: Introduce the first argument: focus on solving crime before it happens Paragraph 3: Introduce an alternative argument: focus on punishing crime severely Paragraph 4 Conclusion: the author gives their own opinion

In discussing how to reduce crime, there are two main approaches of how to deal with this problem –prevention or cure.  We can either spend money on more police and prisons in order to control crime, or we can look carefully at why people commit crimes and then attack the causes of the crime. The argument in favor of reducing crime by attacking the causes of crime is that prevention is better than cure.  Crime is like a disease.  People can either have a vaccination, which means they don’t develop the disease, or they can take some medicine or antibiotics after they have the disease which will hopefully cure it.  Surely it’s best not to get the disease in the first place!  Following this argument, we need to understand why people commit crimes so the government can develop a strategy to help solve the problems before they become too great. On the other side of the argument, many people believe that crime can only be reduced by fear and control.  If potential criminals know that the police force is excellent, they won’t commit crimes because they know they will probably go to prison.  Similarly, if they know that all criminals are severely punished with long prison sentences, they will think twice before committing a crime. In conclusion, I think we need to be hard on criminals, but also hard on the causes of crime.  Some people who are very rich and have been given a lot of opportunities in life still commit crime (not paying taxes, for example), so I don’t think we can successfully reduce crime only by focusing on the causes of crime.

Word Count: 275

scrambled order

Following this argument, we need to understand why people commit crimes so the government can develop a strategy to help solve the problems before they become too great.

Crime is like a disease.  People can either have a vaccination, which means they don’t develop the disease, or they can take some medicine or antibiotics after they have the disease which will hopefully cure it.  Surely it’s best not to get the disease in the first place!

The argument in favor of reducing crime by attacking the causes of crime is that prevention is better than cure.

On the other side of the argument, many people believe that crime can only be reduced by fear and control.

In discussing how to reduce crime, there are two main approaches of how to deal with this problem –prevention or cure.  We can either spend money on more police and prisons in order to control crime, or we can look carefully at why people commit crimes and then attack the causes of the crime.

In conclusion, I think we need to be hard on criminals, but also hard on the causes of crime.  Some people who are very rich and have been given a lot of opportunities in life still commit crime (not paying taxes, for example), so I don’t think we can successfully reduce crime only by focusing on the causes of crime.

If potential criminals know that the police force is excellent, they won’t commit crimes because they know they will probably go to prison.  Similarly, if they know that all criminals are severely punished with long prison sentences, they will think twice before committing a crime.