Solving Traffic and Pollution Problems: Essay Ideas

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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Comments

  1. Gulshan says

    Hi Liz. I have a question, please , if possible, instruct me the best way to do it.
    So, in some essay has two questions. To be specific, in the agree and disagree essay I don’t know how I should approach. Like this: To what extent do you agree or disagree, and next question in the same essay : ‘What other measures do you think might be effective’. Please, enlight me if I construct the essey: introduction, the first paragraph- the first side(which I don’t agree, the second- which I agree, third paragraph-solution? Or the first-my side, senond-solutions?

    • You are over thinking. Try to take a very simple, logical approach. IELTS is testing you on logical organisation. One body paragraphs contains your opinion (whatever it is) and the other body paragraph contains the solutions. Simple, clear, logical = high band score for Coherence & Cohesion.

  2. Madan Bahadur Bista says

    Is it okay to use “this essay will discuss/ this essay discussed?? I’ve seen many teachers teach this . Thank you!

    • If the instructions ask for your opinion, the words “this essay will” does not express your opinion.

  3. hrmn deep says

    Dear ma’am ,
    How can i improve my sentense formation ……….
    My teacher said that ” mostly, i make incorrect sentense ” please give the instruction to make correct sentense ……….
    Thankyou…

    • You need an English language teacher and an English language website. This website is for IELTS skills. Start developing your English first.

  4. Hi Liz, this topic popped up on 25 Mar IELTS in Australia.

  5. kalaivanan pullaiannan says

    hai liz
    please suggest what type of essay is the below mentioned one.

    Some companies have uniform for their staffs which must be worn at all times

    What are the advantages for a company of having a uniform?

    Are there any benefits of having a uniform for the staff ?
    tnq
    kalaivanan

  6. s.siman says

    hi Liz,
    i’m not clear about what type of question is this?is it opinion essay,cause/solution or direct question essay????

  7. Ahmed Alblooshi says

    Please have a look at this one.
    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.

    Growing traffic is considered to be a major issue to the world. More cars are hitting the road day by day, which lead to serious pollution problems. In order to tackle this ongoing issue, countries decide to increase the price of petrol, as they think it is the most convenient approach and use some alternatives to petrol like wind and solar power that might be effective. I personally feel that increasing petrol price is not necessary to cut down pollution problems.

    To begin with, we can classify people into three categories based on their income such as low income, middle income and rich. When the country increases the petrol price, the first two of these categories will be affected. With regards to low paid people, they suffer from paying petrol’s normal price, but when it is increased, they will not be able to afford it. It is likely to be the same with middle-income people, the money they get is only sufficient for their hand and mouth, so they spend their money consciously. Most of their money goes for household appliances, children education, electricity, and petrol. When petrol price increases, they will suffer a lot and think twice before paying for petrol. On the other hand, this will not majorly affect rich people, as they can afford petrol because of their extra allowances.

    However, the country should encourage people to reduce the usage of cars by advertising the consequences of the traffic congestion on the society. Having said that, carpooling is another environmentally friendly solution, as it reduces the carbon footprint of each individual by going to work in groups. In addition to that, we as individuals play a major role in this process. We should be aware of keeping our body fit by cycling or walking instead of using cars for short distances. This will help us to be physically active and healthy, as well as reduce the consumption of petrol. Furthermore, Government could also reserve separate lanes for carpoolers, bicyclers and pedestrians so that they can reach their destination faster which will encourage other people to follow them.

    To conclude, traffic is one of the main causes of pollution as it produces harmful gasses and we should be aware of this catastrophic problem. The Government should raise awareness among people on limiting the usage of petrol and use public transportation to keep our atmosphere safe and clean. In this regard, I feel that the government should focus on educating the people instead of increasing the price of petrol. Government and people are the two sides of a coin, so not only the Government always plays a role in saving our earth, but also we should work along with the Government in order to restrict the pollution problem due to the large consumption of petrol.

    • I don’t usually comment. However, I will say that your conclusion should be either one or two sentences long – no more.

  8. It is believed that the most effective solution to rapidly increasing traffic and pollution problems is to make petrol expensive. In my opinion, I agree that, by doing so, it will help to bring down the traffic congestion but there are also other ways to curb the exploding traffic and pollution menace.

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  9. Hi Liz
    How can I write a thesis statement for a cause and effect essay?

    The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in the last ten years.

    What are the causes and effects ?

  10. Hi Liz…i am confused with the use of the verb ‘increase’…I thought that it is a passive verb which means that we do not use it in Passive voice as it has a passive meaning..However you used the phrase ‘if the price is increased’or …’need to be increased’…please could you explain me this grammatic phenomenon?…thanks a lot

  11. Angel says

    Hi Liz,

    I noticed that the question states “pollution problem”. Would I be deviating from the topic if I state that increasing fuel cost will not be the optimal solution for mitigating pollution issues since other factors unrelated to car use may pollute the air, such as improper waste disposal?

    I am looking forward to your response. thank you very much.

    • For this essay question, the subject is both traffic and pollution together which means you can separate them. The pollution in the essay question relates to traffic pollution only so it wouldn’t be advisable to start writing about other sources of pollution.
      Liz

  12. Ismail says

    Hi Liz sorry for disturbing.Could you assess my essay and give some advices.

    Nowadays,increasing number of cars on roads,one of the big issues for the environment and growthing amount of people.Owing to,vehicles emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,which able to create greenhouse effect in the atmosphere.Simultaneously,greenhouse gases cause to raise average ambient temperature.
    In my opinion,increasing the price of petrol isn’t the best way to solve growing traffic and pollution problems.Due to,the people who has afford to drive a car,although increasing price of petrol,ongoing driving,by connecting it with their needing.Meanwhille,increasing price of petrol can influence to the price of other manufactures trade,makes it raise.That is why,I can’t go along this opinion.In addition,the increasing price of petrol also can lead to protest and demonstrations,which aren’t good for goverment policy.
    I suggest that the solution start mass to make vehicles which use alternative types of fuel instead of petrol and that is can mitigate the pollution of environment.Furthermore,for reducing traffic congestion I reckon that,some rich people need change their opinion about cars psychologically.They should look to cars as transport method don’t as luxurious.Because,many rich families have more cars than they need.To conclude,I’d like to mention about that,todays many entrepreneurs at the world are interesting about mass producing cars which use alternative types of fuel (hybrid,hydrogen e.t.c.)

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