Some people believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishment. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Sample Response
In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of crimes being committed. Many people are of the opinion that these offenceswrong-doings should be assigned fixed penalties by categoryclassified categorically. However, I believe that each offence should be assessed individuallylooked upon in a subjective manner, taking into account the nature and severity of these unlawful activities. Giving a fixed punishment would definitely make court proceedings a lot quicker. This is because the judges would not need to decide what type of punishment criminals deserve because it would already have been decidedwould deserve as it would have been already decided for them. However, this is an unfair practice as some of the criminals may not deserve the punishments given to them. For example, a person robbing a convenienceconvenient store maywill not deserve the same sentence as an armed bank robbersame punishment as a person robbing a bank because the severity of the offencedegree of the crime is less severe in the first casenot as severe as the latter. On the other hand, deciding a punishmentcrime according to the situation and motive behindof it makes perfect sense as it would ensure that the lawbreaker is given a fair trial and the right punishment is handed down to themhim. For instance, a mentally ill person who commits murdercommits a murder would be judged accordingly, instead of being grouped into the same category of all other types of murderersall the other type of murderers. This, therefore, will make the trial balancedbalance and fair. In conclusion, my opinion is that the sentence for a crime should be determinedpunishment for a crime should be made up based on all the factors leading up to the unlawful action rather than passing judgmentproviding judgement based on the classification of crimes into types.
Why this response received Band 7.0
The response discusses both approaches, gives a clear preference for case-specific sentencing, and supports each side with relevant examples. Its argument would be stronger with deeper examination of the benefits of consistency and some correction of imprecise legal vocabulary and grammar; prioritise balanced development and more exact comparisons between offences, circumstances, and culpability.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both views and a clear opinion are addressed, with relevant examples, though the fixed-punishment view is developed only briefly.
Add a second reason for fixed penalties, then explain why proportionality and mitigating circumstances outweigh that benefit.
Coherence and Cohesion
The sequence is clear and cohesive, although the essay is presented as one block and some reference chains are awkward.
Use separate paragraphs for each view and reserve the final paragraph for the position.
Lexical Resource
Legal vocabulary is generally appropriate, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate.
Use precise phrases such as 'convenience store', 'circumstances and motive' and 'determine a sentence'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A range of complex forms is used, but comparative structures, agreement and participles contain noticeable errors.
Check every comparison for a clear subject and use correct adjective forms after linking verbs.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Some people believe that there should be fixed punishments for each type of crime. Others, however, argue that the circumstances of an individual crime, and the motivation for committing it, should always be taken into account when deciding on the punishment. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.