Useful Collocations For “Loss of freedom is a punishment that offenders

IELTS Writing Task 2 – have to face when they go to jail.”

Topic: Crime
Expressing views about crime and punishment
1. The crime rate: a measure of the number of
crimes in a particular area during a period of
time.
6. White-collar crime: Crimes committed by
“office works”, for example, fraud.
“More and more employees who work in a bank
turn into crime as white-collar crime.”

“The reduction of the crime rate is the main 7. Be put on probation: To be under
goal for lawmakers. supervision to ensure their good behaviour

2. To commit a crime: does something wrong “Sometimes first-time offenders are not
or illegal. imprisoned but are put on probation for a set
period of time to ensure their good behaviour.”
“In the US, a young person who commits a
crime by stealing a car will almost certainly go 8 . Social isolation: the state of separating
to prison.” somebody from our society.

3. Prison sentence: the period of time served in “The offenders have to serve the prison sentence
prison under such as a sentence. as the social isolation to remain safety of
society.”
“It is the heated debate that government have to
pass lenient laws that would avoid the prison 9. A violent criminal: Includes assault,
sentence while others think it would increase mugging and robbery.
the crime rate in our society.”

“A student who is bullied at school may turn

4. Deterrent: a punishment makes somebody into a violent criminal when they grow up.
less likely to do illegal activities.

10. Motive for crime: The reason why people

“The death penalty acts as a deterrent to people commit crimes
who wish to bring drugs illegally into another
country.”
” A desire for revenge on his wife is a motive for
his crime as murder. “
5. Loss of freedom: Be not free
11. Allay the fears: to make someone feel less 16. To break the law: do something illegal
afraid, worried.

“If a person breaks the law, he is certainly

“I believe that some solutions could help to allay imprisoned.”
people’s fears.”

17. To resort to crime: to use crime because

12. Turn to a career of crime: become a there is no other solution.
criminal

“After losing all money from the game, the

“Nowadays, in the harshly competitive labour men resorted to crime to get easy money.”
market, the unemployment rate is rising rapidly,
more and more people cannot meet the basic 18. Illegal activities: the illegal acts.
human’s need that is maybe a reason for them
to turn to a career of crime.“ “It is alarming that more and more youngsters
turn into illegal activities.“
13. To be imprisoned: Go to a jail.

19. Fall foul of the law: to get into trouble with

” Being imprisoned is the best way to punish the police because you are doing something illegal
offenders for their guilty. “

“In Vietnam, if the company discharges the huge

14. To breed future offenders: influence amount of untreated waste into rivers, they
people, especially young people, in such a way certainly fall foul of the law.“
that they later commit a crime.

20. Juvenile delinquency: Antisocial

“Parents should give more attention to their behaviour committed by people under eighteen
offspring in order to avoid breeding future years old.
offenders.”

“It is true that juvenile delinquency rate is

15. Easy money: Money that you get without increasing alarmingly, which could jeopardise
working hard for it, especially when you do illegal the social stability.”
activities to get this money

21. Soaring crime rates: crime rates rising

“To make easy money, the bank robbery have very fast
stolen two billion dollars from five international
banks in this year.”
Example: We are facing off soaring crime rates 29. Serve out one’s sentence: serve the full
and it’s high time the criminals were brought to amount of time
justice.

Courts and Trials

22. Miscarriages of justice: Situation where
innocent people are found guilty The trial was adjourned: the trial was
suspended till a later time or date

Example: There have been a multitude of

miscarriages of justice recently. To be remanded in custody: send to prison
until the trial begins or continues

23. Trumped-up charges: invented and false

accusations Dismiss the case: Decide that the case is not
worth considering

24. Face trial

Unanimous verdict: verdict which all the
decision makers agree to
Example: No one in the world should face trial
on the basis of unreliable evidence or trumped-
up charges. Beyond reasonable doubt

25. Escape punishment Contest the verdict: Disagree with the verdict
and tried to change it

26. Custodial sentences: a sentence to be

served in a prison or similar institution  Capital punishments | Deathpenalty

 To sentence criminals to death

27. Commit minor offences  A form of revenge

 A criminal record
Example: While the rich always seem to escape
 To engage in unlawful activities
punishment, poor people seem to receive
 Tore-offend
custodial sentences even for committing minor
 Criminals = Wrongdoers = Lawbreakers =
offences
Convicts = Offenders

28. Extenuating  Rehabilitatedprisoners

circumstances: circumstances that lessen the  Communityservice

blame  Prisonsentences

 Unlawfulactions
 To deter/discourage people from doing something Exercise 3. Correct the mistakes with

 Inmates prepositions in the collocations.

1 The witness appeared on court for the first time
 Tosendsomebodytoprison
today.
EXERCISES: 2 He was put in trial for murder.
3 The murderer was soon brought into justice.
Soaring crime rates
4 He was later remanded on custody.
Dismiss
5 The ease against Mr Sharp was proved over
Escape punishment
reasonable doubt.
was adjourned

Writing IELTS Task 2 Topic 1:

1. Why should young criminals get away without
Studies show that criminals get low level
being punished for crimes just because of their
of education. Some people believe that the
age?
best way to reduce the crime is educating
2. An increasing number of crimes per head of the
people in prison so they can get a job after
population have been recorded in the last twelve
leaving prison. To what extent do you
months.
agree or disagree?
3 The judge threw out the case because he felt the
evidence was not strong enough.
4 The judge said that the trial would now take
Writing IELTS Task 2 Topic 2:
place next month.
In some countries, a high proportion of
criminal acts are committed by teenagers.
Exercise 2. Choose the correct collocation.
Why has this happened? What can be
1. If you are remanded in custody, you are kept in
done to deal with this?
prison/ obliged to pay some money/ allowed to go
home.
2. Someone might get out of prison early for
Writing IELTS Task 2 Topic 3:
good/soaring / extenuating behaviour.
Some people who have been in prison
3. If you serve out a sentence, you are kept in
become good citizens later. Some people
prison for the full amount of time / released from
think that having these people to give a
prison early /kept in prison for life.
talk to school students is the best way to
4. If you get a custodial sentence, you only serve
tell them about dangers of committing a
the sentence if you commit another crime / go to
crime. Do you agree or disagree?
prison / have to do some community service.