Public Transport vs Roads Investment · Policy
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 question with a model answer of 277 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 40 minutes. Write at least 250 words.
Some people argue that governments should invest more in public transport than in building and maintaining roads. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Write at least 250 words.
How to approach it
- 01Take a clear position in the introduction and maintain it throughout the essay
- 02Use specific examples (cities, phenomena like 'induced traffic') rather than vague generalisations
- 03Acknowledge the opposing view briefly to show balanced thinking, then refute it
- 04Use environmental, social and economic angles to add depth to your argument
- 05Use sophisticated linking phrases: 'By contrast', 'That said', 'The argument is not… but…'
- 06Conclude by restating your position with the reasoning, not just paraphrasing the introduction
Model answer
277 words in 5 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
As urban populations swell and the climate crisis deepens, governments face increasingly difficult choices about how to allocate transport budgets. While road infrastructure remains essential, I strongly agree that the balance should be tilted in favour of public transport, which offers superior environmental, social and economic returns.
The most compelling argument for prioritising public transport concerns its environmental footprint. A single double-decker bus or commuter train can replace dozens of private vehicles, dramatically reducing carbon emissions, particulate pollution and congestion. Cities such as Vienna and Zurich, which have invested heavily in trams and metros, consistently rank among the cleanest and most liveable in the world. By contrast, building more roads tends to induce demand — a phenomenon urban planners call "induced traffic" — meaning that wider motorways quickly fill with new cars, leaving the original congestion problem unresolved.
Public transport investment also delivers important social benefits. Reliable, affordable buses and trains enable lower-income citizens, elderly people, students and those with disabilities to access employment, healthcare and education without the prohibitive cost of car ownership. Roads, in contrast, primarily benefit those who can already afford private vehicles, often widening rather than narrowing social inequalities.
That said, roads cannot be neglected entirely. Rural communities, emergency services, freight haulage and indeed buses themselves all depend on a well-maintained road network. The argument is not that road investment should cease, but that the marginal pound or dollar is better spent on a new tram line than on a new motorway lane.
In conclusion, while both forms of infrastructure matter, public transport offers greater environmental, social and economic value per unit of investment. Governments serious about sustainability and equality should reweight their budgets accordingly.
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 69 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
14 fewer than the median answer for this task type
7 words at the shortest, 31 at the longest
1 more than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 19.8 words and vary by 7.7 words either side of that, running from 7 words to 31. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 7 of the 14 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
7 in total, spread across 4 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
in contrast, by contrast, while
accordingly
such as
in conclusion
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 83 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 72 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 2 words. Examiners discount wording lifted from the question, so a short run here is the right outcome: the answer restates the topic in its own words rather than borrowing the question's.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Response
Take a clear position and support it with developed arguments
Coherence & Cohesion
Logical paragraph structure with effective linking
Lexical Resource
Topic-specific vocabulary on transport, environment and policy
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Range of complex structures including conditionals and concessive clauses
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