Writing Task 2: Opinion (Agree/Disagree) Essay: Question 7
Syllabus W.task2
Prison sentences do little to reduce reoffending, and governments should redirect the majority of their criminal justice budgets away from building and running prisons towards rehabilitation and education programmes for offenders.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
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Worked solution
Examiner notes
Task Response
The essay takes a clear, qualified position (“I largely agree”) that responds precisely to the prompt’s own wording (“redirect the majority”) rather than overreaching into an absolute claim, and this qualification is honoured consistently: the final paragraph explicitly carves out an exception for violent crime instead of contradicting the thesis. Both body paragraphs are fully developed, each anchored by a specific, plausible example (Norway’s rehabilitation-focused system; the compounding cost of repeat incarceration) rather than a generalisation.
Coherence & Cohesion
Paragraphing follows a clear logical progression (reoffending, then cost, then a concluding qualification) with each paragraph opening on a clear topic sentence. Cohesive markers (“The strongest argument…”, “A second, related consideration…”, “None of this implies…”) make the relationship between ideas explicit without falling back on a mechanical “Firstly… Secondly…” template.
Lexical Resource
The essay uses precise, register-appropriate vocabulary for the topic (“entrenches criminal behaviour”, “reintegration support”, “compounding… expense”, “custodial sentences”) and avoids repeating “prison” and “crime” by varying reference (“incarceration”, “custodial sentences”, “offence”, “reoffending”), showing genuine lexical flexibility rather than a narrow, repeated set of terms.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
A wide range of structures is used accurately and naturally: a semicolon joining two related clauses, a non-defining relative clause, concessive subordination (“would, admittedly, require… but…”), and passive constructions where the agent is unimportant (“Offenders released without qualifications…”). No grammatical errors are present, and sentence length and structure are varied throughout rather than following a single repeated pattern.