Crime & LawAgree / DisagreeIntermediateHigh Frequency

IELTS Essay: Society is based on rules and laws. It could not function if individuals were...

Prompt

Society is based on rules and laws. It could not function if individuals were free to do whatever they wanted to do. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

#social_contract#law_and_order#individual_freedom#governance#society_stability

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Band 7 → 9 — Band 7 agrees/disagrees with balanced reasoning; Band 9 unpacks the paradox that rules often expand effective freedom and analyzes when enforcement becomes tyrannical.

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Key concepts in this essay

Social contract theory and why rules enable rather than solely restrict freedom
Tension between personal liberty and collective security
Consequences of lawlessness (chaos, inequality, unsafe public spaces)
Examples of proportionate vs. excessive regulation
Cultural variation in rule-based societies

Pitfalls the model essay avoids

Presenting an overly binary view without acknowledging that societies balance both individual liberty and collective order—a spectrum, not black-and-white
Failing to provide concrete examples (traffic laws, property rights, workplace safety) to ground abstract philosophical claims
Neglecting counterarguments such as historical overreach of authoritarian laws or how societies function with minimal regulation (e.g., professional self-regulation)

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