Task
In many countries today, crime novels and TV crime dramas are becoming more and more popular.
Why do you think these books and TV shows are popular?
What is your opinion of crime fiction and TV crime dramas?
Candidate’s Answer
This is an answer written by a candidate who achieved a Band 7.5 score.
The reason behind the rising popularity of the crime novels and TV dramas, lies with the fact that the reality transmitted in the show/book, is our own. I am from Rio de Janeiro, a beautiful place with horrible people, and we know that what soap operas show, is not our reality. Sometimes happy endings only happen in fairytales, which leads me to “Tropa de Elite” (Elite Squad, roughly translated) and why it was a phenomenon.
The movie shows our dark side, the drug dealers with machine guns, the dangerous environment of the favelas and the corruption in our police forces. It shows that there is nothing glamorous about being poor in Brazil (an idea that has been growing lately). And that? We relate. We know the truth, and we want it to be seen and heard, even if it is a fiction vision of it.
this is where the fiction part enters. When we watch the brave policeman or the brilliant CSI save the day, it gives a slight comfort. We feel like someone can save us from our reality, someone can be our hero and get the job done. It is a rather gullible thought, but it is the truth. BOPE’s popularity (Rio de Janeiro’s elite police force) grew rapidly after the movie’s success.
We want to feel heard and to be saved, and in a mix of reality and fantasy, these books and shows do that. I, for example, love them and even considered to be a police officer. But after careful consideration, i gave up the idea, for I think the world’s salvation lies behind a pen or inside a book, and not on the tip of a machine gun. But there is nothing wrong to daydream on our favorite shows.
Examiner’s Comment
This is a thoughtful response to the task and the writer explores both parts in some depth. The ideas are relevant, extended and well-supported. Information and ideas are logically organised and there is a clear progression throughout the answer. Paragraphing is handled well, with a clear central topic in each one. The range of vocabulary shows less common items[transmitted | phenomenon | corruption | glamorous | salvation] and good use of collocations[rising popularity | soap operas | dark side | drug dealers | save the day]. Errors in word formation are rare[fiction / fictional vision]. There is a variety of complex structures, well-controlled for accuracy, with only rare errors[considered to be / being a police officer | nothing wrong to daydream / in daydreaming]. Punctuation is generally well-controlled, apart from some lack of capitalisation in the final paragraph.
