IELTS Task 2 sample essay: Education or Punishment in Prisons
OpinionCrime and law
The question
Prisons should focus on educating and training prisoners rather than punishing them. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Try writing your own answer first, then compare. Reading a model before you write tends to make you copy it.
The plan
Position: Largely agree: education and training should be the main aim, but prison must still protect the public and keep a punishing element.
- Most prisoners are released, and those who leave with skills and work are far less likely to reoffend.
- Punishment alone often makes reoffending more likely; but serious violent offenders still need secure custody.
Model answer
288 wordsThere is a long-running debate about whether prisons should mainly punish offenders or prepare them for life after release. I largely agree that education and training should be the main focus, because this protects the public more effectively in the long run, although prisons must still keep dangerous people off the streets.
The most important fact in this debate is that almost every prisoner is eventually released. A person who leaves prison unable to read well, with no qualifications and a criminal record, has very few legal ways to earn a living, and many return to crime within months. By contrast, prisoners who complete courses, learn a trade such as plumbing or carpentry, or gain work experience before release are far more likely to find a job. Every former prisoner who works instead of reoffending means fewer victims and lower costs for courts and police.
A purely punitive approach, on the other hand, often makes matters worse. Long periods spent idle among other offenders can strengthen criminal connections rather than break them, and people who are treated only as threats may come to see themselves that way. Punishment satisfies a natural desire for justice, but if it produces more crime later, it fails the very public it is meant to serve.
That said, prison cannot be only a school. The loss of freedom is itself a punishment and should remain so, and a minority of violent offenders must be held securely for as long as they remain dangerous, whatever programmes they complete.
In conclusion, I believe prisons should concentrate on education and training, because preparing prisoners for honest work is the surest way to reduce reoffending, while secure custody remains essential for those who pose a serious threat.
Scored by the MyBandPrep checker on 7 October 2026. An estimate, not an examiner’s mark. How scoring works
Why it works
- Task Response
- The partly-agree position is precise (education as the main focus, with clear limits) and every paragraph supports it.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- The argument builds from the key fact (prisoners are released) to the failure of punishment alone, then to the limits, which makes the conclusion feel earned.
- Lexical Resource
- Topic vocabulary used precisely: “reoffend”, “punitive approach”, “secure custody”, “criminal connections”.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Accurate complex sentences with contrast clauses, gerund subjects and conditionals.
Phrases worth reusing
- almost every prisoner is eventually released
- far more likely to find a job
- a purely punitive approach
- fails the very public it is meant to serve
- the surest way to reduce reoffending
Now write your own
Answer this question in 40 minutes and get an estimated band with the sentences to fix.