Band 8+: You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Some people think that the best way to reduce crime is to give death penalty. Others, however, believe there are better alternative ways of reducing crime. Discuss both views and give your opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

There are many changes occurring in our daily life from the past to the present, such as overpopulation, artificial intelligence, remote education, and so on. These changes result in a phenomenon in the modern world, which is competition becoming a tool to stand out and grasp opportunities at the workplace, in educational environments, and so on.

On the one hand, competition is an essential factor that plays a vital role in the development of almost all aspects of our life. First, competition forces human beings to improve themselves to catch up with the average standard of society. For example, developing countries around the world must acquire new knowledge and technology from developed countries to help their population become global citizens to compete with others when applying for a job, especially for an international position. Second, competitiveness has a benefit at school as well. By competing with themselves and their peers, students can push themselves out of their limits to explore their potential.

On the other hand, some opponents argue that we should assist each other to improve ourselves day by day rather than seeing each other as rivals. Indeed, from an abundant perspective, there are more and more opportunities when we enhance our standards. For instance, by helping an orphan go to school and acquire the necessary skills, he or she will have access to more chances to earn money and give back to society instead of committing a crime or becoming involved in something bad, which can adversely affect the community. Moreover, emotionlessness is a controversial issue nowadays. Since competition with each other not only exacerbates this matter but also makes us feel isolated, we should focus on improving ourselves to become a better version of ourselves and help each other to contribute to the development of our society and country.

In summary, competition is an inevitable thing in the modern world. However, we should use the advantage of competitiveness by only competing with ourselves to improve and develop ourselves and help each other to enhance our living standards.