1. Read the extracts below about the role of prisons and discuss these questions with a partner.
1 Which of the opinions expressed do you most agree with and why? Can you think of any advantages or disadvantages to the solutions described?
2 What, in your opinion, is the purpose of prisons?
A I
don't believe prison is the answer for most crimes, except really
serious ones like murder. But if we do have to put offenders in
prison, then surely losing their freedom is enough of a punishment.
We don't need to punish them twice for what they've done by making
them live in bad conditions. Some people claim that prisons are
like holiday camps, but that's just not true. It's our fault if
people become criminals, so we should give them a second chance.
We've got to offer them an opportunity to study or train so they
can do something useful when they get out again.
Language Bank Acknowledging
opposing ideas ... Certainly,
it can be argued that... While
I agree/accept that... ...
and countering them However,
/ Nevertheless, / On the other hand, ... ...
research has shown that... In
fact, ... / The truth is... / The fact of the matter is... It
follows that... / Therefore, ... / As a result, ... Asking
for/giving clarification I
don't (quite) follow you. Do you mean...? What
exactly do you mean by ...? Well,
you see ... To
put it another way ... / In other words,... Summarising,
concluding Everything
points to the conclusion that... To sum up, I (firmly) believe ...
There
is no alternative but to ...
B It’s
currently fashionable to blame unemployment and poverty for
criminal acts. But there is no denying the fact that each
individual has a choice. Despite difficult circumstances, many
people do not turn to crime. Those who do and are caught often
re-offend. It’s clear from this that attempts to reform criminals
are a waste of time. For these reasons, I believe that prisons
should be centres of punishment, not leisure centres or university
campuses, and the only way to deter crime is to introduce tougher,
longer sentences.
2. Summarise your conclusions for the class. Did you agree or did you have different opinions?
/From Fast Track to CAE. Alan Stanton, Susan Morris/
Writing 1 Essay ‘For and Against’
1. Work with your partner and sum up the advantages and disadvantages of imprisonment as a form of punishment.
2. Read the composition on the advantages and disadvantages of imprisonment as a form of punishment. Fill in each gap with one of the following words or phrases.
Firstly / First of all Secondly / Thirdly / In addition / Moreover / Furthermore Consequently / So / As a result / Therefore However / In contrast / On the one hand / On the other hand In conclusion / To conclude / To sum up / On the whole |
For centuries imprisonment has been one of the main means of punishing a criminal in different countries. (1)____________, there is growing evidence that prison is not always the best solution to the problems of crime that people face. Several scientific studies have shown that prison is not nearly as beneficial to society as it might be imagined. (2)_____________, alongside advantages there are disadvantages to imprisonment as a form of punishment.
There are some positive sides of imprisonment as a form of punishment. (3)_____________, prison is a social defence against anti-social people. In short, it keeps people safe. (4)_________, prison punishes wrongdoers through their loss of freedom. (5)_____________, it teaches convicts the error of their ways, so that when they are released, they can enter back into daily life as law-abiding citizens.
(6)___________, there are certain drawbacks to sending people to prison. (7)______________, the terrible conditions in most prisons mean that imprisoned criminals rarely receive a positive education. Rather, they spend their time inside with other prisoners who can teach them the tricks of their trade. (8)_____________, when they are released, it is very difficult for them to find a job, so they often feel that they have no choice but to reoffend. It is the only thing they know. (9)___________ the truth is that they are more likely to commit crimes again when they are released than if they had not been sent to prison in the first place.
(10)______________, it can be seen that as a form of punishment imprisonment has both positive and negative sides. (11)______________, it isolates criminals from society and punishes them by depriving them of freedom. (12)____________, it converts inmates into productive members of society. (13)_____________, prison tends to provide criminals with a negative education and does not offer the opportunities to start a new life.
/Adapted from Use of English: Skills for First Certificate. Malcolm Mann, Steve Taylore-Knowles/
3. Give each of the paragraphs one of the following headings: Conclusion, Introduction, Advantages, Disadvantages.
4. Work with your partner and compare the arguments in the essay with those you put forward before you read.
5. Write an essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of providing prisoners with education and training.
Reading 2
1
.
Pre-reading task
1. First look at the photograph, and discuss these questions: What are the people doing? Where are they? What do their signs mean?
2. Discuss the following questions in small groups.
Capital punishment means taking the life of someone who has committed a crime. In the United States, capital punishment is allowed in some states. Do you know of any other societies in which capital punishment is allowed?
Why do some people believe that capital punishment is fair? Why do others think that it is unfair?
2. Reading
1. A newspaper editorial gives the writer's opinion about a topic. As with any news article, an editorial begins with a headline or title.
Divide into two groups.
Group A Look at the following editorial headline. On a separate piece of paper, write any ideas that you expect to find in the editorial. Then read it and check.
Headline 1—Life in Prison Is Still Life: Why Should a Killer Live?
Group B Look at the following editorial headline. On a separate piece of paper, write any ideas that you expect to find in the editorial. Then read it and check.
Headline 2—Why Do We Kill People to Show That Killing People Is Wrong?
Work with other students in your group and check whether you can find the same ideas in the editorial as you predicted.
Text A
Life in Prison Is Still Life: Why Should a Killer Live?
Murder is totally unfair; the victims of murder are gone forever. Their hopes and plans have ended permanently, and the pleasures they enjoyed in life have been destroyed. They will never see their friends again and will never hear the voices of parents, brothers, and sisters who cry, "How could this have happened?" But the murderer is still alive. Without capital punishment, murderers are allowed to participate in and enjoy life. Today there are murderers in prisons all over the world. Most of them would rather spend their lives in prison than die. This is not surprising since the desire to live is normal and natural. In prison there are many small pleasures that one can enjoy every day: the feeling of warm sunshine, the taste of a hot meal, the comfort of sleep. The lifestyle in |
prison is not always harsh and cruel; many prisoners have the opportunity to continue their educations, play sports, enjoy movies, and receive visits from their loved ones. There is no reason why a killer, a destroyer of life, should live. Justice requires that each person respect the rights and freedoms of every other person, or be punished for not doing so. The people who commit murder give up their rights to citizenship and life itself. Why should the tax money of citizens—including the victim's family—keep the killer alive? The only fair punishment is execution. Execution puts the killer away from society forever, stops him from killing again, and sends a strong message to others who might kill: Killers will not be allowed to live. Let sunshine fall on those who respect life—not on those who destroy it. |
Text B
Why Do We Kill People to Show That Killing People Is Wrong?
There are times when murder is not committed because of cruelty. People may kill for other reasons such as anger, misunderstanding, and fear. Everyone has made mistakes because of such feelings. For society, it is a serious mistake to take the life of someone who has killed because it teaches everyone that forgiveness is unnecessary. The government has the difficult job of deciding who is innocent and who is guilty, and this job can never be done perfectly. If capital punishment is allowed, there always exists the possibility that an innocent person will be executed by mistake. When that happens, an even worse crime has been committed—the killing of an innocent person by the government. Then there is the fact that the poor and minorities get the death penalty more often than whites do. Furthermore, the idea that capital punishment stops criminals from committing murder is doubtful; studies have been unable to show that the fear of capital punishment stops someone from committing murder more than other punishments. And let us not forget that murdering the murderer is a violent act in itself; it is revenge. |
The U.S. government once followed the example of Germany, Britain, France, and other nations that no longer execute their citizens—however, since 1977, our society has been allowing capital punishment again, at a high cost. We cannot imagine the pain of family members who have been waiting for years for the government's decision to execute or not execute their loved ones. It also costs the taxpayer millions of dollars more to execute a criminal than to imprison that criminal for life. Prison is a better form of punishment because it protects society and punishes criminals by taking away their freedom. People can change, even people who have made terrible mistakes. Life in prison gives people the chance to change. Caryl Chessman is an example of someone who became a better person in prison. He taught other prisoners how to read, and he wrote several books. Before his execution, he wrote that he had finally learned not to hate. Chessman learned this important lesson in prison. But a dead man learns nothing, and an executed person will never change. When a government kills, it is murdering hope. |