Governments should spend money on railways rather than roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Sample Response
Governments want to ensure a safe and rapid form of transportsafe and fast mode of transportation for their citizens and businesses. Thus many express thetheir view that governments should focus on improving railways rather than roads. I concur with the statement and my reasons will be explained in this essay.
First, railways are safe for both citizens and merchantssafe both for citizens and merchants. The number of road accidents and highway casualties in many countries is far higher than the number of railway accidentsthat of railway accidents. Thus investing in a safer mode of transportation that is also fast is a far more prudent policya much more prudent idea for any government. It is also an efficient mode of transport as trainsrails can carry hundreds of people and several hundred tonnes of goods at a time while road transport cannot match this capacityroad transport is not built for that. For example, some shuttle trains are many times faster than private cars and public busesthan those of private cars and public buses while also carryingwhile also can carry far more passengersa much higher number of passengers at a time. Thus improved railways would reduce journey timessave valuable time while offering a safe form of transportmode of commuting for more people and goodsbusinesses.
Moreover, modern railwaysrails are more environmentally friendly - and are powered by clean energyare run by green energy like solar power and electricity - while road vehicles burn fossil fuels and harm the environmentcause harm to the environment. Climate change is a majorhuge concern for every government in the world, and the modern rail transportation system causes far less damage to the environment. Considering environmental benefits, governments should invest in railways rather than roads. For instance, many developing countries in Europe have invested heavily in developing their rail systemstheir train system and reduced carbon emissions as a result of this initiative.
In conclusion, I believe that a government - either in a developed or a developing country - should invest in building a safer, faster, greener and more reliable transportation system, and the railway, for this reason, should get an obvious priority.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response maintains a clear position and develops two persuasive lines of reasoning around safety, capacity, and environmental impact, supported by relevant examples. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision in examples and phrasing, which slightly weakens an otherwise coherent argument. The highest-priority improvement is to make comparisons more exact and qualify broad claims, particularly those about rail energy sources and national investment outcomes.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response directly answers the question with a consistent position and develops relevant safety, efficiency, and environmental reasons in depth.
Strengthen the case further by qualifying broad factual examples and briefly explaining why railway priority remains justified despite continuing road needs.
Coherence and Cohesion
The essay is logically organised into focused paragraphs, and cohesive devices guide the reader clearly without obscuring progression.
Refine links within the main body so closely related claims about safety, speed, and capacity form an even smoother chain of reasoning.
Lexical Resource
A sufficiently flexible range of transport and environmental vocabulary conveys the argument precisely overall, despite a few awkward or imprecise choices.
Use more exact terms such as rail services, rail passengers, and clear priority, and avoid treating electricity itself as necessarily green energy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex and simple structures are used with generally strong control, though a few comparative and clause constructions are awkward or incomplete.
Check comparison structures and subject insertion in clauses, for example writing while they can also carry rather than while also can carry.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Governments should spend money on railways rather than roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.