In order to solve traffic problems, governments should tax private car owners heavily and use the money to improve public transportation. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution?
Sample Response
Traffic congestion in many cities around the world is severe. One possible solution to this problem is to impose heavy taxes on private motoriststaxes on car drivers and use this money to improve public transportmake public transport better. This essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of such a measure.
One major benefitOne of the first benefits of such a measure is that heavy taxationthe heavy taxes would discourage car owners from using their cars because it would become very expensive to drive. This would mean that they would usebegin to make use of public transport instead, thus reducing traffic congestion and pollutiontraffic problems and pollution as well. Another benefit would be that much more use would be made of public transport if it was improved. It is often the case that public transport services in cities are often inadequatepublic transport in cities is very poor. For example, we often see old buses and trains that people would rather not use. High taxes would generate enough money to make the necessary changes.
Nevertheless, there are drawbacks to such a solution. First and foremost, this would be a heavy burden on the car drivers. At present, taxes are already high for a lot of people, and so further taxes would leave people with less disposable incomefurther taxes would only mean less money at the end of the month for most people who may have no choice but to drive every day. In addition, this type of tax would likely be set at a fixed amount. This would mean that it would affect lower-income people more severelyhit those with less money harder, whilst the rich could likely afford it. It is therefore not a fair tax.
To conclude, this solution is worth considering to improve the current situation, but there are advantages and disadvantages of introducing such a policy.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The essay fully covers both sides of the proposal, develops each point with clear consequences or examples, and progresses smoothly through a well-controlled structure. Its main limitation is that some wording and sentence patterns are slightly repetitive and the conclusion remains rather general; the best improvement would be to sharpen lexical precision and end with a more specific synthesis of the principal trade-off.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
Both advantages and disadvantages are directly addressed through relevant, well-developed explanations and examples.
Make the conclusion more specific by summarizing the central benefit and the principal fairness concern.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas are logically sequenced within clear paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader effectively throughout.
Vary recurring reference phrases such as such a measure and this would mean to make cohesion less noticeable.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is flexible and precise enough to express causes, consequences, financial burden, and fairness with very few lapses.
Reduce repetition of general terms such as benefit, solution, and tax by selecting more exact context-specific alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex sentence forms is used accurately, with most sentences remaining fully controlled and error-free.
Refine the few slightly awkward constructions while preserving the strong variety of subordinate and conditional structures.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Writing Task 2
In order to solve traffic problems, governments should tax private car owners heavily and use the money to improve public transportation. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a solution?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.