In this post: How to use these tables, then vocabulary for culture, the arts and the media, and for crime and prisons.
Task 2 Topic Vocabulary (2) · 3 parts
- 1. Culture, media and crime (you are here)
- 2. Cities, housing and society
- 3. Economy, all-purpose arguments, practice
✦ In this post
This is Part 2 of my topic vocabulary notes. Part 1 covered technology, the environment, and education and work. This post covers the topics in the second half of my Google Doc: culture, the arts and the media; crime and prisons; cities, the countryside and housing; social issues (health, longevity, inequality, risk); and the economy, business and advertising.
The format is the same as Part 1: for each topic there is a core vocabulary table (with sentences I wrote in my essays), arguments for and against, and a topic sentence plus example you can adapt directly. Where a sentence has a grammar problem, I note a more natural version next to it, so you can review some grammar along the way.
1. How to use this post
What these five topics have in common is that their arguments can often be borrowed from one another. For example, “people on low incomes can’t afford it” works for museum charges, new taxes and home ownership; “mental health” works for arts funding, taking risks and longer life expectancy. So I suggest reading through each topic’s vocabulary table first, then finishing with the “all-purpose arguments” table in section 7 (Part 3) to tie them together.
2. Culture, the arts and the media: arts funding, museums, entertainers’ pay, print vs digital
In this category I wrote about whether governments should cut arts funding to spend more on education, whether museums should charge for entry (I wrote from both sides), the advantages and disadvantages of a multicultural society, whether entertainers are paid too much, and whether people will still buy printed books and newspapers in the future.
Core vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Common collocations | My sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| free admission / free entrance | no charge to enter | offer free admission, free entrance to museums | households with lower incomes can benefit from free entrance to museums (Task 21, corrected) |
| maintenance costs | the cost of keeping something in good condition | cover maintenance costs | expenses such as staff salaries and maintenance costs are high (Task 21, rewritten) |
| preserve culture / cultural heritage | protect culture for the future | preserve arts and culture | the earnings from tickets provide museums with enough budget to preserve the arts and culture |
| engage in art | take part in or experience art | motivate people to engage in art | it motivates people to engage in art since it enables more people to visit those places for free |
| refreshment / release stress | something that relaxes you / relieve stress | a source of refreshment | a number of the population will lose their sources of refreshment, threatening people’s mental wellbeing |
| art-related industries | jobs and businesses connected to the arts | rely on art-related industries | a wide range of workers rely on art-related industries and occupations |
| multicultural society | a society with many cultures | people of different cultural backgrounds | diverse ideas will occur if participants … are from different countries |
| cultural conflicts | clashes between cultures | (culture shock only means short-term difficulty adjusting) | cultural conflicts will result in various debates and arguments in our daily lives |
| entertainers / celebrities | performers / famous people | be paid excessively | entertainers should not be paid too much money (Task 25) |
| overemphasize appearance / extravagant lifestyles | care too much about looks / luxurious ways of living | distort the public’s values | it distorts the values toward lives, especially makes the public overemphasize on appearance (overemphasise takes no on) |
| print publications / electronic editions | paper books and newspapers / digital versions | digital content, subscription fee | (vocabulary notes) electronic version, print version, digital books and newspapers |
| copyright protection | legal protection of creative work | strict regulations on copyright | Owing to the increasing consensus of protecting copyright, strict and complete regulations may be implemented |
Arguments you can use
| Position | Arguments | Examples you can use |
|---|---|---|
| Museums should be free | ① Encourages more people to engage with art, culture and history ② Gives low-income families somewhere to go | Taiwan has national museums with free admission, and they have always been popular. |
| Museums should charge | ① Ticket income maintains collections and facilities ② Controls crowds; attracts foreign tourists who boost the economy | Restoring artefacts, cleaning galleries and staff costs are all expensive. |
| Against cutting arts funding | ① Art is a source of stress relief for many people, affecting mental health ② Many people depend on art-related jobs | People working in museums, historic sites, arts centres and arts education. |
| Entertainers are paid too much | ① It distorts values, making the public overemphasise appearance and luxury ② Young people lose interest in studying | Jobs that should be well paid: those requiring advanced degrees (doctors, professors, lawyers) and dangerous jobs (police officers, firefighters, soldiers). |
| Print won’t disappear | ① It has value as a keepsake ② Copyright rules will tighten, so online content won’t necessarily be free | Cutting out and keeping newspaper articles about yourself. |
A topic sentence you can adapt, plus an example
Topic sentence: Furthermore, free tickets can also make museums good entertainment places for both individuals and families.
The example I actually wrote (Task 21, corrected): In particular, households with lower incomes can benefit from free entrance to museums since it is hard for people with economic disadvantages to make ends meet, let alone purchase tickets for entertainment purposes. The National History Museum in Taiwan, which is free of charge, is a good example of this matter.
Task 21 scored 7 on all four criteria, overall 7. My original version of this paragraph had several small mistakes: income was missing an s, entrance of should be entrance to, economical disabilities was the wrong word choice, make end meets should be make ends meet, and the museum name was missing the. The argument and example were fine; every lost mark was in the language. Incidentally, this essay opened with “is a hot issue”, which is too conversational; “has received considerable public attention” would be better.
3. Crime and prisons: prison or education? Who is responsible?
I wrote two crime essays: “Should criminals be sent to prison or given education and training?” and “When children commit crimes, should the children or their parents be punished?” Crime vocabulary is very consistent, so once you know one set well you can handle most questions.
Core vocabulary
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Common collocations | My sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| offenders / lawbreakers / criminals / culprits | people who break the law | young offenders, juvenile offenders | putting lawbreakers in prison can discourage the public from conducting inappropriate behavior |
| commit a crime | break the law | — | those holding similar intentions to break laws will be deterred from committing a crime |
| crime rate | how much crime there is | lower / decrease the crime rate | The crime rate in Singapore is relatively low compared with other nations worldwide |
| deter | discourage through fear of consequences | be deterred from + V-ing | As above |
| imprisonment / be sent to prison | being locked up | prison as an institution is uncountable: in prison | Whereas some people look upon imprisonment as a viable way… |
| rehabilitation / education and training | helping offenders return to normal life | provide offenders with education and training | complete education grants lawbreakers opportunities to learn life skills |
| life skills / make ends meet | practical everyday skills / earn enough to live on | — | education enables those who commit a crime capable of finding jobs and making ends meet (enable takes to + verb: enables them to find jobs) |
| tell right from wrong | know the difference between right and wrong | — | when receiving thorough moral and legal education, criminals can tell right from wrong |
| dysfunctional families | families with serious problems | be born and raised in… | (used in my essay to show why family upbringing matters) |
| shoulder the responsibility | accept responsibility | — | everyone ought to shoulder the responsibilities by themselves, and young offenders should not be an exception |
| impose punishment on | punish (formal) | impose punishment on parents | when the authorities impose punishment on juvenile offenders’ guardians, it can motivate the public to pay more attention to educating their offspring |
| drug trafficking | dealing and transporting illegal drugs | — | Gangsters tend to enlighten students to do drug trafficking because they can easily avoid the police’s attention (enlighten means “to give insight”; here it should be lure or recruit) |
Two grammar points need special care on crime topics. Research, legislation, prison and jail are uncountable in this context, so don’t add s or an article (be sent to prison, research shows). Police is plural on its own (the police are); one person is a police officer. In another essay I wrote “If those young people are prisoned“; prison is not a verb, so it should be are imprisoned or are sent to prison.
Arguments you can use
| Position | Arguments | Examples you can use |
|---|---|---|
| For prison | ① Restricts freedom and protects the public ② Deters others who might commit crimes | Singapore has strict laws and a relatively low crime rate. |
| For education and training | ① Offenders learn life skills and can find work after release ② Legal and moral education teaches right from wrong and reduces reoffending | Many offenders come from dysfunctional families and lack basic legal knowledge. |
| Punish the child | ① Everyone should be responsible for themselves; it is fair to victims ② Stops adults using minors to commit crimes | Gangs use students to carry drugs because students attract less police attention. |
| Punish the parents | ① Children lack judgement and don’t understand the consequences ② Makes parents take their children’s upbringing more seriously | Parents understand what is right and wrong better than their children do. |
A topic sentence you can adapt, plus an example
Topic sentence: On the other hand, as far as I am concerned, giving culprits education and training can bring more benefits to individuals and societies.
My supporting reasons (Prison & Education): Firstly, complete education grants lawbreakers opportunities to learn life skills. … Secondly, when receiving thorough moral and legal education, criminals can tell right from wrong, furthermore decreasing the crime rate.
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Writing Language (post 4 of 4)
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Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
← Back to IELTS notes in English
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