In many parts of the world, children and teenagers are committing more crimes.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 2 question on IELTSX. In many parts of the world, children and teenagers are committing more crimes.

Children and teenagers committing more crimes reasons and punishment - IELTS Writing Task 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Why is this happening? How should they be punished?

Write at least 250 words.

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 7 ยท 321 words.

In many parts of the world, an increasing number of children and teenagers are becoming involved in criminal activities. This trend can largely be attributed to poor living conditions and the influence of violent media. To address this issue, governments should prioritise psychological support and rehabilitation while introducing appropriate forms of punishment.

One of the main reasons why young people commit crimes is poverty. Many teenagers grow up in financially disadvantaged households where they lack access to basic necessities such as food, clothing and medication. As a result, some may turn to theft or other illegal activities to satisfy their basic needs. Another contributing factor is the influence of violent content in films and television programmes. Young people are particularly vulnerable to external influences because they are still developing their understanding of social norms and acceptable behaviour. Constant exposure to aggression and criminal activities in the media may gradually make such behaviour appear normal. For instance, teenagers who regularly watch films in which violence is portrayed as an effective way of solving conflicts may become more tolerant of aggressive behaviour.

There are several ways in which juvenile crime should be addressed. Firstly, governments should provide psychological counselling and rehabilitation programmes for young offenders. Some teenagers engage in criminal activities because of traumatic experiences, family problems or a lack of emotional support. Addressing these underlying issues may prevent them from committing further offences. Secondly, community service could be introduced as an alternative form of punishment for less serious crimes. Activities such as cleaning public spaces or maintaining local parks would teach young offenders responsibility and help them understand the consequences of their actions. However, more serious offences should result in stricter penalties appropriate to their severity.

In conclusion, juvenile crime is often associated with poverty and exposure to violent media. Although young offenders should face appropriate consequences, rehabilitation, psychological support and community service are likely to be more effective than punishment alone.

Examiner feedback

This is a well-organised, clearly argued response with accurate, varied language. Its main limitation is task development: the causes and solutions are reasoned but rely on general claims, and the stance on punishment is not consistent across the introduction, body and conclusion. Stronger evidence and a single, unambiguous position would move it toward Band 8.

Task Response - 7

- The introduction states a clear position: poor living conditions and violent media drive juvenile crime, and governments should prioritise rehabilitation alongside punishment. - Causes are developed with reasoning, such as the link between deprivation and theft and the normalising effect of repeated exposure to violence, supported by a concrete example about films portraying violence as an effective way to resolve conflict. Some points, such as 'poverty' in the first body paragraph, stay general and would benefit from statistics or a more specific mechanism. - Both parts of the prompt are covered. Solutions are developed with rehabilitation, counselling and community service, but the position on punishment shifts between the introduction ('appropriate forms of punishment'), the second body paragraph ('stricter penalties') and the conclusion ('punishment alone' is less effective).

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Paragraphing is logical: introduction, two causes, two solutions, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a clear central topic. - Cohesive devices are varied and generally appropriate, including 'One of the main reasons', 'Another contributing factor', 'As a result', 'For instance', 'Firstly/Secondly', and 'However'. Some sequencing is slightly formulaic. - Progression is clear and referencing is accurate, for example 'these underlying issues' and 'such behaviour'.

Lexical Resource - 7

- Vocabulary is precise and topic-appropriate, including 'financially disadvantaged households', 'juvenile crime', 'rehabilitation', 'normalising' effects, and 'underlying issues'. - Spelling is accurate and British spelling is used consistently ('prioritise', 'counselling', 'programmes', 'behaviour'). - Collocations are largely natural ('exposure to aggression', 'criminal activities', 'tolerant of aggressive behaviour'). 'Stricter penalties appropriate to their severity' is slightly redundant and could be tightened.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 8

- Sentence structure is varied and controlled, with well-formed complex sentences using relative clauses, participle phrases, concessive and conditional structures. - Grammatical accuracy is high, with very few errors. Most sentences are error-free, and errors are limited to minor slips. - Punctuation is controlled, including correct comma use after introductory connectors such as 'Firstly,' and 'As a result,'.

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