“Do you believe that societies ought to enforce capital punishment or Are there alternative forms of punishment that would be better used? ” First of all you need to consider the question. What does it ask? Straight away, you can see that it asks 2 things. It wants to know if you believe that society should use capital punishment and it also wants to know if you can offer any alternatives to capital punishment. Your answer should give a balanced view of both parts of this question. What is important to realize is that there is no correct answer here. You can present any point of view as long as you can support it.
So, in your planning stage you should have a roadmap for the introduction, each paragraph and the conclusion. Here is my brief plan for the essay. Intro * What cp is. Where it’s used. (not my country). Differing opinions. * I don’t believe in cp. * There are alternative punishments. Body 1. Inhumane – we shouldn’t sink to the level of criminals. 2. We can get convictions wrong; prisoners can be released if there’s an error. Mentally ill. Examples. 3. Alternative punishments: life means life; hospitals for criminally insane. Costs more but society has a duty to care. 4.
Many countries favour it and they say it works. Prisons too full. Killers deserve nothing less. Some crimes deserve it. Not my morals though. Conclusion I don’t agree. We can do other things. Avoid mistakes and make modern society a humane one. The above is a basic plan of how I want to write my essay. It’s not rigid. I can change my ideas and format as I write if I feel I can do better. I can also add things that I’ve forgotten as the essay goes on. It’s normal of course for you to have new, good ideas as you write and the skill is to get them into your essay without upsetting the balance of the essay.
How do you do this? It’s practice again. You won’t get good at writing essays and adapting your writing well without practice. So, below is an example essay using the plan above as a basis. Example Essay for the IELTS Academic Task 2 WritingCapital punishment is the killing of a criminal for a crime that he has committed. Previously most countries employed this method of punishment but nowadays it is much less widely used. I personally do not believe that societies today should use capital punishment and I also believe that there are alternative punishments that can be used.
My main argument against capital punishment is that I believe we do not have the right to kill another human being regardless of the crime. I don’t believe in the old religious maxim of “an eye for an eye. ” Modern societies shouldn’t turn to such barbaric punishments. Another argument against capital punishment is that people can be wrongly convicted and executed. If a man is in prison, he can be released if later proved not guilty. If he is dead, there is nothing that can be done. In the UK, a group of supposed terrorists were convicted of murder in Birmingham in the 1970s.
They were proved innocent about 15 years later and released. If they had been executed, innocent people would have died. There are alternative punishments available. For bad crimes prison life sentences can be given with criminals imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Also a lot of horrific crimes are committed by people who are mentally sick. These people are not responsible for their actions and can be kept safely and permanently in secure hospitals. Yes, this costs a lot more but I believe it is the duty of society to do this. There are arguments for capital punishment.
Many people feel its threat stops serious crime and that criminals deserve nothing less. It’s cheaper and keeps the prisons manageable. I can understand this point of view but I cannot agree with it. So, in conclusion, I don’t believe in capital punishment, as there are less barbaric alternatives available. We can avoid horrific mistakes and make modern society a humane one. Describing Graphs for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing What you need to do here is factually describe the graphs. You don’t need to analyse the data, For example you don’t need to give reasons for why figures are high or low.
Sometimes, when there is more than 1 graph, there is a relationship between the two and you can bring in some comparison but more than this is not necessary. In the same way, no specialised knowledge of your own is needed or wanted nor your opinions. Remember the function of many graphs is to describe a trend so be sure that you describe the trends. A trend is how values change generally over time and it is important to describe the changes along with some of the individual values. We will look at trends a bit later under line graphs. One important issue with The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing is how much detail to include in your report.
This depends really on how much detail there is in the question. If there is only 1 graph and it doesn’t have much numerical data in it, then you will be expected to include all or nearly all of the numerical detail. If, however, you have 2 graphs, both of which are very complicated with lots of values, you will not be expected to include everything as you only have 150 words to do the job. What you will have to do is to include a selection of what you feel is the most important and significant detail that needs to be included to accurately describe the graph.
You must always have some numerical detail though. Now let’s look individually at the types of graph that you are likely to meet in the exam and how to describe them. Bar Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing Hopefully you will have described the title of the bar chart in your introduction so you can go straight into the description. Basically, with a bar chart, you need to describe the bars and their values. When describing a bar chart you first have to decide in what order to describe the bars, highest value to lowest value or lowest value to highest value. It may be a mixture of this.
If there are very many bars, you can sometimes group together for description 1 or 2 or 3 bars which have similar or the same values. If there are very many and you can’t group them, then just describe the ones that are the most significant. Pie Charts for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing Pie charts are relatively straightforward as they only usually have a few sections though this is not always the case. You need to describe the segments and their values. If there are very many then just describe the ones that are the most significant. The values are often expressed in percentages but not always so be careful what scale you are using.
Tables for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing These can sometimes be tricky as they provide a lot of information and it is often awkward and difficult to describe every piece of information. You have to decide and describe the values and sections that are the most significant. Line Graphs for The IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing The function of a line graph is to describe a TREND pictorially. You therefore should try and describe the trend in it. If there are many lines in the graph(s), then just generally describe the trend. If there is only one or two, then use more detail.
So, describe the movement of the line(s) of the graph giving numerical detail at the important points of the line. To describe the movement, there is some language which will always be useful. Below is a list of language you can use. Check with your dictionary words that you don’t understand and practice using the words/phrases so you use them in the right way. As you will see, there are a number of words which are similar in meaning. This means that you will be able to use a variety of vocabulary which gives a good impression to the examiner who will read and mark your writing.
The words below are particularly useful for line graphs but they can also be used where appropriate to describe the other types of graph. Expressing the Movement of a Line Verbs| Nouns| | | Rise (to)| a rise| Increase (to)| an increase| Go up to| | Grow (to)| growth| Climb (to)| a climb| Boom| a boom| Peak (at)| (reach) a peak (at)| | | Fall (to)| a fall (of)| Decline (to)| a decline (of)| Decrease (to)| a decrease (of)| Dip (to)| a dip (of)| Drop (to)| a drop (of)| Go down (to)| | Reduce (to)| a reduction (of)| | A slump| | | Level out| a leveling out| No change| no change| Remain stable (at)| |
Remain steady (at)| | Stay (at)| | Stay constant (at)| | Maintain the same level| | | | Adjectives| Adverbs| | | Dramatic| dramatically| Sharp| sharply| Huge| hugely| Enormous| enormously| Steep| steeply| Substantial| substantially| Considerable| considerably| Significant| significantly| Marked| markedly| Moderate| moderately| Slight| slightly| Small| | Minimal| minimally| | | Describing the Speed of a Change| | | Adjectives| Adverbs| | | Rapid| rapidly| Quick| quickly| Swift| swiftly| Sudden| suddenly| Steady| steadily| Gradual| gradually| Slow| slowly| Other Hints for the IELTS Academic Task 1 Writing DON’T copy any part of the question in your answer. This is not your own work and therefore will be disregarded by the examiner and deducted from the word count. You can use individual words but be careful of using long “chunks” of the question text. * Don’t repeat yourself or the same ideas. This gives a bad impression and the examiner realises that it isn’t adding to the content of your report. * If you are weak at English grammar, try to use short sentences. This allows you to control the grammar and the meaning of your writing much more easily and contributes to a better cohesion and coherence mark.
It’s much easier to make things clear in a foreign language if you keep your sentences short! * Think about the tenses of your verbs. If you’re writing about something that happened in the past, your verbs will need to be in the past tenses. If you’re describing the future, you will need to use the future tenses. If it’s a habitual action, you’ll need the present simple tense and so on. If you have time, a quick check of your verbs at the end of the exam can help you find errors. For describing graphs you will probably need past tenses whereas, for describing a process, you will probably need the present simple.
Think about the verbs while practising and then it will become easier when you do the exam. * As I just said, if you have finished the exam with time to spare, DON’T just sit there!! Check what you have done. If you have time after the check, check again. And so on…. * Don’t be irrelevant. Although you can use your imagination to expand on your answer, if any part of your report is totally unrelated to the question and put in to just put up the word count, then the examiner will not take it into account and deduct it from the word count. * If you want to improve, there’s no secret.
Practice. Practice. Practice. You won’t get better sitting and doing nothing. Even good English users need practice for the IELTS exam. It could make all the difference between your getting the band that you need, and getting half a band less than you need and having to wait 3 months to do the exam again. * The following is a list of IELTS sample writing questions for you to try out. Some of them also include Academic and General Training questions. * 1? Some young children spend a great amount of their time practicing sports. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this.
Use specific reasons * 2? It is sometimes said that borrowing money from a friend can harm or damage the friendship. Do you agree? Why or why not? Use reasons and examples in your answer. * 3? Every generation of people is different in important ways. How is your generation different from your parents’generation? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer. * 4? Some people pay money for the things they want or need. Other people trade products or goods for what they need. Compare the advantages of these two ways of obtaining things. Which way do you prefer? Explain why. * 5?
Imagine that you have received some land to use as you wish. How would you use this land? Use specific details to explain your answer. * 6? Some people like doing work by hand. Others prefer using machines. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. * 7. You want to persuade someone to study your native language. What reasons would you give? Support your answer with specific details. * 8. You have been asked to suggest improvements to a park that you have visited. This might be a city park, a regional park, or a national park. What improvements would you make?
Why? Use specific reasons and examples to support your recommendations. * 9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People should read only those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts. Use specific reasons and details to support your opinion. * 10. Films can tell us a lot about the country in which they were made. What have you learned about a country from watching its movies? Use specific examples and details to support your response. * 11. Some people say that physical exercise should be a required part of every school day.
Other people believe that students should spend the whole day on academic studies. Which opinion do you agree with? Give reasons to support your answer. * 12. Some people prefer to spend most of their time alone. Others like to be with friends most of the time. Do you prefer to spend your time alone or with friends? Give reasons to support your answer. * 13. If you could invent something new. what product would you develop? Use specific details to explain why this invention in needed. * 14. It has been said. ” Not everything that is learned is contained in books. Compare and contrast knowledge gained from experience with knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? why? * 15. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Playing a game is fun only when you win. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. * 16. Because of developments in communication and transportation,countries are becoming more and more alike. How is your country becoming more similar to other places in the world? Use specific examples and details support your answer. * 17. If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change?
Use reasons and specific example to support your answer. * 18. People attend colleges or universities for many different reasons( for example, new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). why do you think people attend colleges? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. * 19. In general. people are living longer now. Discuss the causes of this phenomenon. Use specific reasons and detail to develop your essay. * 20. Over past 50 years, young people gain status and power but old people have lost. What is the cause and is it a good development or bad development? * 21.
You and your family are living in a rented accommodation in an English-speaking country. You are not satisfied because there are something wrong with the furniture. So write a letter to the landlord and ask how to resole the problem. * 22. Young people are exposed to a great amount of information such as film, book, Internet. In what ways they give bad influence on young people and explain the reason, how to reduce the bad influence with examples. * 23. (A) Do you think government should subsidizes the musicians, artists, actors or drama companies, do u agree or disagree, what should government do? (G) People doing different kinds of work enjoy different amount of holiday time. Should people have the same amount of leisure time? Give your opinion using some of your own experience. * 24. (A) Some people believe that a country should have the moral obligation to help the other country and some of the people think that exist the misspending of the government and the aid money can not be got by the poor. What is your opinion? * (G) Some people think that children’s lives will be different from their own. Whit is your opinion? Explain the reasons by your experience and examples. 25. (A) Some people think that machine translation is highly developed in today’s society, therefore it is not necessary for children to learn a foreign language. What’s your opinion? * (G) Today some person has to work away from his family, what is the advantages and disadvantages? Give your opinion and some explains of your experience. * 26. (A) Someone say the age of book is past, the info will be presented by some multimedia tools such as video, computer, television and film , others think the book and the written words will be necessary for spread info & complete education.
Discuss both sides and give your opinion. * (G) The culture of different countries are becoming similar so there is no pint for people to go traveling abroad for they could have same experience at home agree or disagree. * 27. Parent should limit children time of watching TV and playing computer game, others Insister children spend reading books, agree or disagree? * 28. Traveling abroad work for period of months or years, advantages or disadvantages to people and country * 29. Do you think people do different jobs they should have different time holiday are you agree or disagree , give your reason an explain. 30. Some people said should not encourage sport at school because it will cause competition rather than co-operation. to what extend you agree with it? * ask 1 – Information Interpretation (about 150 words) * * The above indicates average student costs during the school year. Interpret the data explaining any abnormalities with possible reasons. * The above represents a typical Ielts Academic Writing Module Task One question with a graph. * Ielts Sample Essay Answer (Task One) * The above graph shows average costs for university students over a four year period.
The items measured are food, housing, and books. Beginning with books, it can be seen that the expenses for each of the four years are nearly the same. This can be explained in that a student usually takes a similar number of classes each semester and the book expense would remain nearly steady. Food, also, is nearly equal with a slight increase in the second year and then a decline in years three and four. Perhaps this reflects students who move off campus in their second year and spend more on food than they did while living on campus.
Housing costs show a large increase in the third year with a return to slightly lower than first and second year totals for the fourth year. An explanation could be that there was a large increase in the number of students attending the university, thereby causing a temporary price rise in the market for housing. * In June 1996, an experimental flu vaccine was trialled in alarge country town on females only . * Write a report for a university tutor describing theinformation shown in the diagrams below. You should write at least 150 words. * * Writing Task 2 * You are advised to spend a maximum of 40 minutes on this task. * Write an essay for a university lecturer on the following topic: * The costs of medical health care are increasing all the time. Governmentsare finding it difficult to balance the health care budget. Should citizens be totally responsible for their own health costs and takeout private health insurance, or is it better to have a comprehensive healthcare system which provides free health services for all? Discuss.
