criminal

forensics
by Dave
introduction 3

Sample answer 5

Analysis 6

vocabulary 10

pronunciation 13

links 14

by Dave
 Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is having a nice new year!

introduction
Some believe that
new science related
to criminal forensics
should be used to look
at old cases.

To what extent do you

agree or disagree?
by Dave

Sample answer
It has recently been argued that modern forensic science developments should
be used to review older cases. In my opinion, this is a logical development that
should be pursued when reasonably possible.
Those who argue against this reform point out the potential expense. The
methods used today, primarily related to various kinds of blood and DNA tests, are
very expensive. Countries must weigh these costs against other areas of criminal
justice such as law enforcement, prisons, courts, new cases, and so on. If a country
were to decide to test a wide range of physical evidence from the past, it would
likely require the majority of a criminal system’s budget and necessitate cuts in oth-
er areas. It is therefore infeasible to perform these tests for all currently convicted
criminals.
However, modern forensic techniques are considerably more reliable than they
were in past decades. Most convictions before the 1990s were based on circum-
stantial evidence or less trustworthy forms of forensics. Today, DNA testing allows
for far greater accuracy and could be applied to thousands of cases in order to
either exonerate or confirm guilt. A good example of this would be in the United
States where there are criminals who have appealed past verdicts and been found
innocent of their crimes in many cases. This allows the police to re-open these cas-
es and attempt to apprehend the true perpetrators.
In conclusion, although reviewing old cases may not always be necessary, it
should be done generally in order to better guarantee just results. It is also import-
ant to recognize that modern methods may be fallible at times.
by Dave
Structure Analysis
It has recently been ar- For your first sen-
tence - rewrite
gued that modern fo- the topic with new
rensic science develop- short and simple!
words, keep it

ments should be used to

review older cases. In my
opinion, this is a logical State a clear
development that shouldand try to men-
overall opinion

be pursued when rea- tion both main

ideas.
sonably possible. by Dave
structure Analysis
Those who argue against this re- Your topic sentence should include the
form point out the potential ex- main idea for the whole paragraph.

pense. The methods used today,

primarily related to various kinds
of blood and DNA tests, are very Explain your main idea.
expensive. Countries must weigh
these costs against other areas of
criminal justice such as law enforce-
Continue with the
ment, prisons, courts, new cases,
same main idea.
and so on. If a country were to de-
cide to test a wide range of physical
evidence from the past, it would
likely require the majority of a crimi- Don’t repeat yourself.
nal system’s budget and necessitate
cuts in other areas. It is therefore
infeasible to perform these tests for Finish strong!
all currently convicted criminals.
Structure Analysis
However, modern forensic tech- Write a new topic sentence
niques are considerably more reli- with a new main idea.
able than they were in past decades.
Most convictions before the 1990s
were based on circumstantial evi- Explain your idea.
dence or less trustworthy forms of
forensics. Today, DNA testing allows
for far greater accuracy and could Be specific and continue
be applied to thousands of cases in your ideas.
order to either exonerate or confirm
guilt. A good example of this would
be in the United States where there The more detail, the
are criminals who have appealed better.
past verdicts and been found inno-
cent of their crimes in many cases.
This allows the police to re-open Finish the development.
these cases and attempt to appre-
hend the true perpetrators. by Dave
 Structure Analysis
In conclusion, although Repeat your opin-
reviewing old cases may ion and summarise
not always be necessary, it both of your ideas
should be done generally in specifically.
order to better guarantee
just results. It is also import-
ant to recognize that mod-
Add in a final detail or thought. To get above
band 7 for task achievement, you must
include this sentence. This could be a sug-
ern methods may be fallible gestion, solution or further support.

at times.
practice idea
After you review and practice with this PDF, write or look up online a Writing Task 2 on a similar
topic. Find the topics here.

by Dave
Write about the new topic and try to use some of the vocabulary and analysis from this essay
to help you.
vocabulary
write a definition or synyonm for the underlined
words. If you’re not sure, try to figure out or
guess what they mean based on the sentence.

It has recently been argued that modern forensic science developments

should be used to review older cases. In my opinion, this is a logical development
that should be pursued when reasonably possible.
Those who argue against this reform point out the potential expense. The
methods used today, primarily related to various kinds of blood and DNA tests,
are very expensive. Countries must weigh these costs against other areas of crim-
inal justice such as law enforcement, prisons, courts, new cases, and so on. If a
country were to decide to test a wide range of physical evidence from the past,
it would likely require the majority of a criminal system’s budget and necessitate
cuts in other areas. It is therefore infeasible to perform these tests for all currently
convicted criminals.
However, modern forensic techniques are considerably more reliable than
they were in past decades. Most convictions before the 1990s were based on
circumstantial evidence or less trustworthy forms of forensics. Today, DNA test-
ing allows for far greater accuracy and could be applied to thousands of cases
in order to either exonerate or confirm guilt. A good example of this would be in
the United States where there are criminals who have appealed past verdicts and
been found innocent of their crimes in many cases. This allows the police to re-
open these cases and attempt to apprehend the true perpetrators.
In conclusion, although reviewing old cases may not always be necessary, it
by Dave
should be done generally in order to better guarantee just results. It is also im-
portant to recognize that modern methods may be fallible at times.
It has recently been argued that some
make the point that
modern forensic science developments
review older cases innovations in crime
scene investigation
a logical development makes sense
pursued when reasonably possible tried
when possible
Those who argue against this reform
point out supporters contend
potential expense possible cost
primarily related to mostly having to do
with
various kinds of blood and DNA tests dif-
ferent lab tests
expensive costly
weigh these costs against consider the
value compared to
criminal justice punishing people
law enforcement police
prisons jails
courts judges and lawyers
new cases new trials
and so on etc
decide to test a wide range of physical ev-
idence from the past,
majority most of
budget money available
necessitate cuts in other areas.
infeasible not possible
perform do
currently convicted criminals people now
in jail
modern forensic techniques are consid-
erably more reliable than new ways of
testing are more accurate
in past decades years before
convictions being found guilty
based on circumstantial evidence or less
trustworthy forms of forensics because of
witnesses/other facts or bad science
DNA testing lab test
far greater accuracy much more reliable
applied to thousands of cases concerns
many people
either one or the other
exonerate or confirm guilt prove innocent
or that they did it
A good example of this would be
appealed past verdicts good instance is
that
found innocent of their crimes in many
cases not guilty sometimes
re-open these cases investigate again
attempt to apprehend the true perpetra-
tors try to catch the real criminals
necessary needed
generally in order to overall so that
better guarantee just results overall to
make sure it is fair
recognize realize
by Dave
modern methods may be fallible
at times new science might not be perfect
vocabulary Remember and fill in the blanks:
I_____________________________t m__________________________________s should be
used to r_______________s. In my opinion, this is a___________________t that should
be p_________________________e.
T________________________________________t the p______________e. The
methods used today, p_______________________________________________s, are
very e______________e. Countries must w____________________t other areas of
c_________________e such as l_______________t, p_________s, c______s, n________s,
a___________n. If a country were to d____________________________________________
_______t, it would likely require the m__________y of a criminal system’s b_______t
and n________________________s. It is therefore i____________e to p_______m these
tests for all c_______________________s.
However, m____________________________________________________n they
were i______________s. Most c___________s before the 1990s were b_______
_____________________________________s. Today, D______________g allows for
f_______________y and could be a___________________________s in order to
e_____r e_________________________t. A______________________e in the United
States where there are criminals who have a____________________s and been
f___________________________s. This allows the police to r____________________s and
a______________________________________s.
In conclusion, although reviewing old cases may not always be n___________y,
by Dave
it should be done g__________________o b__________________________s. It is also im-
portant to r_____________e that m_________________________________e a_________s.
Pronunciation
ɪt hæz ˈriːsntli biːn ˈɑːɡjuːd
ðæt ˈmɒdən fəˈrɛnsɪk ˈsaɪəns
dɪˈvɛləpmənts
rɪˈvjuː ˈəʊldə ˈkeɪsɪz.
ə ˈlɒʤɪkəl dɪˈvɛləpmənt
pəˈsjuːd wɛn ˈriːznəbli
ˈpɒsəbᵊl.
ðəʊz huː ˈɑːɡjuː əˈɡɛnst ðɪs
ˌriːˈfɔːm pɔɪnt aʊt
pəʊˈtɛnʃəl ɪksˈpɛns.
ˈpraɪmərɪli rɪˈleɪtɪd tuː
ˈveərɪəs kaɪndz ɒv blʌd ænd
diː-ɛn-eɪ tɛsts,
ɪksˈpɛnsɪv.
weɪ ðiːz kɒsts əˈɡɛnst
ˈkrɪmɪnl ˈʤʌstɪs
lɔː ɪnˈfɔːsmənt,
ˈprɪznz,
kɔːts,
njuː ˈkeɪsɪz,
ænd səʊ ɒn.
dɪˈsaɪd tuː tɛst ə waɪd reɪnʤ
ɒv ˈfɪzɪkəl ˈɛvɪdəns frɒm ðə
pɑːst,
məˈʤɒrɪti
ˈbʌʤɪt
nɪˈsɛsɪteɪt kʌts ɪn ˈʌðər ˈeərɪəz.
infeasible
pəˈfɔːm
ˈkʌrəntli kənˈvɪktɪd ˈkrɪmɪnlz.
ˈmɒdən fəˈrɛnsɪk tɛkˈniːks ɑː
kənˈsɪdərəbᵊli mɔː rɪˈlaɪəbᵊl
ðæn
ɪn pɑːst ˈdɛkeɪdz.
kənˈvɪkʃᵊnz
beɪst ɒn ˌsɜːkəmˈstænʃəl
ˈɛvɪdəns ɔː lɛs ˈtrʌstˌwɜːði
fɔːmz ɒv fəˈrɛnsɪks.
diː-ɛn-eɪ ˈtɛstɪŋ
fɑː ˈɡreɪtər ˈækjʊrəsi
əˈplaɪd tuː ˈθaʊzəndz ɒv
ˈkeɪsɪz
ˈaɪðə
ɪɡˈzɒnəreɪt ɔː kənˈfɜːm ɡɪlt.
ə ɡʊd ɪɡˈzɑːmpl ɒv ðɪs wʊd
biː
əˈpiːld pɑːst ˈvɜːdɪkts
faʊnd ˈɪnəsənt ɒv ðeə
kraɪmz ɪn ˈmɛni ˈkeɪsɪz.
riː-ˈəʊpən ðiːz ˈkeɪsɪz
əˈtɛmpt tuː ˌæprɪˈhɛnd ðə
truː ˈpɜːpɪtreɪtəz.
ˈnɛsɪsəri,
ˈʤɛnərəli ɪn ˈɔːdə tuː ˈbɛtə
ˌɡærənˈtiː ʤʌst rɪˈzʌlts.
ˈrɛkəɡnaɪz
ˈmɒdən ˈmɛθədz meɪ biː
ˈfæləbᵊl
æt taɪmz.
listening practice

reading practice