2017年5月6日雅思考试A类大作文真题回忆:

Some people think that young people who commit serious crime should be punished in the same way as adults. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

这是一道犯罪题。环球宁波学校童驹为同学们分析一下这类的话题内容。

一直以来我都认为不算容易，因为这类题离同学们的生活比较远，不太容易言之有物。特别是涉及到此类如何惩罚青少年罪犯的问题，社会上的争论就很激励，即便是专门的法律人士也不一定能给出特别有说服力的观点来。

这道题大多数同学不难想到的观点就是“年纪轻，要多给机会”；这个观点的方向是对的，但是请一定要认真说出，为什么年纪轻的人要多给机会，而成年人就不行，也就是说要写出少年犯跟成年罪犯到底有什么不同。这一点请大家阅读范文时多多体会。

In most countries, juvenile delinquents are usually given lighter punishment than adult offenders for equivalent crime. Some argue, however, that this needs to be changed and the same punitive measures should be taken regardless of the offenders’ age.

There are certainly some good arguments in favor of this proposal. First, if we are to view punishment as a way to console the victim or the victim's family, then there is no reason to give different treatment to individuals who have caused the same harm. Another more compelling argument is to maintain the deterring effect of law, especially given that juvenile crimes are increasingly prevalent in recent years. It is possible that some teenagers are deliberately taking advantage of the

lenient legislative policy towards young offenders and thus commit crimes without being fearful of the harsh consequences.

However, statistics show that a majority of teenage crimes are committed impetuously. It has been confirmed by medical science that adolescents are more likely to lose control of their temper and do something they might regret soon afterwards because of their relatively inadequate brain development. Research has also shown that a considerable proportion of juvenile offenses could be partly attributed to their abnormal family environment and poor education, meaning that these young offenders have not received proper supervision and guidance that they deserve in their formative years. These factors seem to indicate that juvenile delinquency is not solely a responsibility of the offenders themselves but to a great extent out ofbiological and social reasons. It is therefore unreasonable to require people to be fully liable for what they do not have entire control of.

A final argument against the indiscriminate treatment to young offenders is that lighter punishment such as forcing them to do community services has proven to be a more effective rehabilitating approach. If these impressionable juvenile offenders are simply incarcerated, chances are high that they will come out of the prison, which is sometimes considered as a school of crime, to become a habitual criminal.

To conclude, apart from a few isolated cases of premeditated, cold-blooded crimes, juvenile offenders should be given more tolerance and should not be punished as harshly as their adult counterparts. This is not only to show consideration for the causes of the crime, but also to rehabilitate offenders more effectively.