Environmental awareness is part of the school curriculum these days for most children.
My fiancé lives in a very far-flung village, but we keep in touch by Skype.
Topic 10: Government and the authorities
About Topic 10
The Government and the authorities topic mostly includes law and order, crime and
policing, justice and punishment. Occasionally the Task may refer to ways of managing public
services, and relations between countries.
The Tasks may ask about public policy in terms of funding (Eg ‘How should prisons be run –
by governments or by private organisations?’) but will not ask for your political views or about
actual events in specific countries.
Topic 10 example Task
Some observers say that police officers should be recruited from the communities where
they work, so that they have local knowledge. Other people say that this is unnecessary, or even
undesirable. Where do you stand on this debate? Is local knowledge essential in modern policing?
Explanation of the Task
This is an Opinion>Personal viewpoint Task. You should introduce the topic and give your
opinion in the introduction, then explain why you have this view. You should briefly consider the
opposing view, then restate your opinion in the conclusion. The Task has the specific instruction to
decide if you think local knowledge is ‘essential,’ so you should refer to this as part of your opinion.
Band 9 model essay
The need for effective, trustworthy police officers is paramount in society today, especially
as criminals become more devious and creative. Regarding whether police should be locally hired,
there is a case to be made on both sides of the debate.
Those who support local recruitment of officers point to the need for the police to understand
the minutiae of the local community. For example, a community may have certain frictions or a
history of a specific grievance, whether religious, political or otherwise. In such situations, the
argument goes, the police need to show sensitivity, and also be able to anticipate the kinds of crimes
that may be committed. Furthermore, local officers may find it easier to gain informants in the
community, leading to stronger evidence at trials, higher conviction rates and a deterrent to crime
through sentencing, imprisonment, fines or community service leading to rehabilitation of the
offender.
On the other hand, it seems likely that officers from the community may in fact share some of
the tendencies of the people they grew up with. For example, in countries such as Mexico, we see a
high incidence of corruption among the local business and government community which is equalled
by bribery among the police. A second objection is that local sensitivity may lead to the police
failing to enforce laws fully, and effectively making exceptions for some offenders, which is