【2012年5月12日雅思范文：监狱教育】

 旧题>Some people think that sending criminals to prison is an effective way to deal with them.  Others think that education and training are better solutions.  Discuss both views and give your opinion.  

新题>"Prisons are useless for crime problems and education is a better solution. "  Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

谢振礼老师雅思范文：监狱教育
IELTS Writing Task 2
Essay Topic: Criminals and Prisons
As seen in China, 2012-5-12

谢振礼老师点评》

此试题把作者搞糊涂了，顿时无从下手作答。按个人的知识或经验，重犯理当坐大牢，藉以隔离社会而不至于再伤害无辜。监狱里都有职业训练--木工，水泥工，机器工，烹饪，修车，也有成人教育课程。总希望犯人出狱后改邪归正，从此变成良民。搞不懂的是为什么真题问: 施于罪犯教育训练胜过送这些坏蛋去坐牢更是良策。你同意还是不同意。疑点是：难道教育的场所是和监狱分开？搞不懂！

拜读过名师慎小嶷老师的雅思真题范文。英文写作高手答题的立场清清楚楚，论证头头是道，很值得烤鸭参考。大意是说教育囚犯比起监禁囚犯更为划算，而却又能让坏人有改过自新的机会。就这样写，只要英文有慎老师一半的水平，保证写作高分。

谢老师的范文有点七上八下。论点包挂，作奸犯科者难逃服刑，同时也在监狱里接受职业管训，虽然效果仅仅是聊胜于无。总之，大牢是非去不可，如此至少让社会安宁一点。不要高估狱中教育的正面效果，因为事实证明出狱后的恶人往往变本加厉，危害社会。君不见监狱的大门是旋转门，犯人进进出出，这也说明教育的用意虽然无懈可击，却又看不到期待的教育效果。所以谢老师的立场：教育不能代替监狱。


Example Writing
By Jeenn Lee Hsieh

First thing first, accept that sending criminals to prison is an effective, if not the only way, to protect society. Stop thinking in terms of education as "punishment" for a moment and instead think about safeguarding innocent people from incorrigible violent sex offenders, trigger-happy drug dealers, and cold-blooded murderers. Education does reduce crimes to some extent; however, it is doubtful if most of them would choose to live a life that is  crime-free.

Since most inmates eventually return to the community, it seems not a bad idea to help them learn a trade and gain skills to make a decent living.  And that is why training programs are often believed to be positive in changing criminal behavior.  Nevertheless, most statistics tend to tell a different story.  As it is, rather than becoming productive members of society, they turn themselves into more skilled criminals.  So it is one thing that rehabilitation offers opportunities; it is quite another whether career criminals make good use of their prison time.  In most cases, after serving their terms they continue commiting offences of a more sophisticated kind.

Education is more a romantic option than an effective solution for crime problems. At this point, it must be made clear that the argument is not against education in correctional facilities, considering that most inmates are under-educated.  Rather, the case is concerned about a control policy to strictly supervise specific released prisoners for at least two years to observe what might happen to society.  Here, skeptics claim that, in many cases, prison education produces nothing more than "better-educated criminals", only more dangerous.  That the violent crime wave is raging while most prisons are over-crowded certainly does not reflect a significant decrease in recidivism.  It merely shows the fear and impotence of innocent people in the community.

The point is that sending criminals to prison is effective, if only by moving them away from the community.  On the other hand, to regard prison education as an effective "punishment" is simply wishful-thinking, in view of relevant evidence that underlies recidivism.  In all events, education provides opportunities, however limited, but it depends on the way those repeat offenders see these opportunities, the rest being pure guessing. （谢振礼老师原创）