Nov 7

IELTS Writing Task 2 - Model Answer - Air pollution

IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Some people say that international car-free days are an effective way of reducing air pollution. Others people say that there are more effective ways of doing this. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Cars are a fundamental source of urban air pollution and, therefore, it is frequently suggested that global car-free days should be introduced. However, there are other major polluters of the atmosphere that could be targeted, which I feel might be more practical in tackling air pollution.

Car-free days may help to deal with this pressing problem to some extent, however many road users would switch to public transport to commute to work. As a result, the public transport network would need to be increased to cope with demand, and unless it was powered by green energy, this issue is not resolved by this proposal. Furthermore, getting all governments around the world to commit to this idea would not be an easy task.

Rather than prohibiting vehicles on certain days, alternative measures could be taken. For example, the burning of fossil fuels in industry is a major factor in rising air pollution levels, therefore, governments could force manufacturing companies to switch to alternative forms of energy such as solar energy or risk heavy fines if they fail to comply with this. In addition, there needs to be a focus on limiting the amount we consume by re-using and recycling in order to reduce household waste, which subsequently goes to landfill sites or is burnt and thus contributes to air pollution.

As a great deal of air pollution is caused by manufacturing processes and waste, I fervently believe that targeting these areas should be a priority. Regulating the amount of pollutants that are released into the air by factories and reducing the amount of waste we produce would be a much more effective way to deal with this.

Vocabulary

  • urban = belonging to, or relating to, a town or city 
  • polluters = someone or something that pollutes something
  • pressing = requiring quick or immediate action or attention; urgent
  • proposal = plan; project; suggestion
  • to prohibit = to forbin; to ban; to not allow
  • heavy fines = large fines (amounts of money that must be paid when you have done something wrong)
  • landfill sites= (also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump or dumping ground) a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial 
  • fervently = strongly; passionately
  • pollutants = a substance that pollutes something, especially water or the atmosphere 

IELTS Tip

The environment is a popular topic in all parts of the IELTS test so make sure you know how to use and the meanings of lots of words/phrases connected with this topic. If you get an essay on the environment for IELTS Writing Task 2, write down all the complex words and phrases connected with the environment that you know and then try to include them in the essay.
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