Solving Traffic and Pollution Problems: Essay Ideas

January 25, 2015 by 23 Comments

Below are some ideas for the following IELTS writing task 2 essay question.

Increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?
What other measures do you think might be effective?

There are two questions to answer:

  1. Do you think increasing the price of petrol is the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems?
  2. What other measures do you think might be effective to solve traffic and pollution problems?

Increasing the price of petrol:

  • if the price is increased, less people will be able to afford it
  • if less people can afford petrol, less people will drive cars
  • if less people drive cars, there will be less congestion on the roads
  • if less people drive, there will be less air pollution

Other ways to solve traffic and pollution problems:

  • traffic problems can be solved by improving public transport to encourage more people to use it rather than to use their own cars
  • public transport can be improved by having more public transport available, making it more punctual and reducing the price of tickets to make it more affordable to the average person
  • another measure is to have no traffic zones in city centers which will  reduce both congestion and pollution in urban centers.

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IELTS Listening: Short Answer Questions

September 15, 2014 by 70 Comments

Prepare the questions below by underlining keywords and paraphrasing before you listen to the recording.

Reading City Travel Information

Questions 1-3

Answer using no more than two words and/or a number.

1. How long is the journey from Heathrow to Reading by express bus?
2. On the intercity from Paddington, which stop is Reading?
3. How long is the train journey from London to Reading?

Recording

Answers
  1. AN HOUR
    The length of time is given “it takes….”. It is common to be given two numbers in the same sentence – one number is the length and the other number is the frequency – pay attention to that and don’t get confused. The word “about” can’t be used due to the word limit.
  2. FIRST STOP
  3. 30 MINS / 30 MINUTES (it is best to write numbers as digits rather than words – this avoids spelling mistakes which can cause you to lose a point)
Transcript
There are a number of ways to get to Reading if that is your destination. If you are arriving by air the nearest airport is Heathrow and from there you can take the Railair express bus which runs every 20 mins and takes about an hour. Another London airport near Reading is Gatwick which is about 50 mins away by car or you could take the hourly train from the South Terminal which takes about 75mins. From London, you should travel from London Paddington station if you want to get to Reading and catch an intercity train. You should get off at the first stop. There are several trains running each hour and the travel time is about 30mins. ( information from wiki)

You notice that I use all capital letters when I write my answers – this is the best way to write your answers for both reading and listening. See the IELTS Exam FAQ page for more information about IELTS

 

Filed Under: IELTS Listening Tagged With: ,
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