IELTS Writing Task 2: Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

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Writing Prompt

A number of countries continue to use capital punishment for the most serious crimes, while others have removed it from their legal systems entirely.

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the death penalty should be abolished everywhere?

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

Show Band 8–9 model answer

Whether capital punishment should be abolished worldwide is one of the most contentious ethical and legal debates of our time. I strongly believe the death penalty should be removed from all legal systems, primarily because of the risk of wrongful convictions, its doubtful deterrent effect, and the damaging message it sends about the value of human life.

To begin with, no justice system is infallible, and the possibility of executing an innocent person is an irreversible tragedy. Even in countries with advanced forensic technology and multiple levels of appeal, there have been well-documented cases where people on death row were later exonerated by new evidence, especially DNA testing. While financial compensation can be offered for wrongful imprisonment, there is no remedy for an unjust execution. A punishment that does not allow for the correction of judicial errors is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of justice.

Moreover, the argument that capital punishment deters serious crime more effectively than long-term imprisonment is not convincingly supported by evidence. Many countries that have abolished the death penalty, such as Canada and most European nations, have not experienced higher rates of homicide as a result; some have even seen decreases over time. Crime is influenced by complex social and economic factors, including inequality, education and policing, rather than by the mere severity of the maximum punishment.

Finally, maintaining the death penalty undermines the moral authority of the state. Governments that execute offenders effectively endorse killing as an acceptable response to wrongdoing. By contrast, replacing execution with life imprisonment without parole still protects the public but affirms a commitment to rehabilitation, human dignity and the possibility, however remote, of moral change.

In conclusion, because of the inevitability of judicial error, the lack of clear deterrent benefits, and the ethical contradiction at the heart of state executions, I am convinced that capital punishment should be abolished in every country.

Why this response works

This essay would likely receive a high band score. It presents a clear position throughout and fully addresses the question, with well-selected main ideas and a logical progression of arguments. Cohesion is strong, using clear paragraphing, referencing and a range of linking devices without overuse. Lexical resource is varied and precise (e.g. “irreversible tragedy”, “judicial errors”, “moral authority of the state”), with natural collocations and accurate word choice. Grammatical structures are diverse and generally error-free, featuring complex sentences, conditionals and concessive clauses used flexibly and accurately.