User-written IELTS example
Writing Academic Task 2 Band 6.0 Example
Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.
Illustrative target band for this original model answer.
Plan your answer
Try your own response before reading the samples.
Ideas to explore
- Explain how carrying many passengers in one train can reduce emissions per traveller compared with relying on individual cars.
- Connect reliable rail services with fewer commuter car journeys, reduced congestion and improved urban air quality.
- Acknowledge that roads provide direct access to rural areas and destinations not served by rail, so prioritising rail does not require neglecting roads.
Suggested structure
- Introduce the funding comparison and state clearly whether you agree.
- Develop the environmental argument with a cause-and-effect explanation.
- Add a separate argument about rail capacity, connectivity or business travel.
- Concede the continuing value of roads and clarify that they still require essential funding.
- Conclude by restating the priority and describing a balanced approach.
Useful vocabulary & examples
- railway investment
- Government spending on rail infrastructure or services.
Railway investment can improve the reliability of services between major towns.
- well-connected services
- Transport services that link effectively with other routes or places.
Well-connected services can make rail a more practical option for commuters.
- road congestion
- Heavy traffic that slows movement on roads.
Reliable trains may help reduce road congestion during busy commuting periods.
- rural access
- The ability of people in countryside communities to reach services and destinations.
Road funding remains important for rural access where railway routes are limited.
Task Prompt
User Essay Analysis
Review the public answer with report-style highlights.
Infrastructure development is one of the basic requirements in any developing nation. Some are of the notion that money is to be spent on railways in comparison with roads. I agree that the government should spend more on railways as the longest distance can be travelled with the cheaper cost. Both sides are elaborated below. The relevance of each route still needs to be examined.
Railways can be useful for moving many people along a shared route. A frequent service between residential areas and workplaces may provide an alternative to individual car journeys. For longer-distance movement of goods, a suitable rail connection can also offer a practical option. The benefit depends on the route, frequency and connections, so building a line alone is not sufficient to establish its value.
Roads remain necessary because many journeys do not begin or end beside a station. Buses, deliveries and access to dispersed communities depend on a usable road network. Even a traveller who completes most of a trip by rail may need a road connection for the final stage. Allowing essential roads to deteriorate would therefore weaken the wider transport system rather than merely favour one mode over another.
The strongest case for rail priority concerns places where demand can support a useful service and where additional road capacity would encourage more traffic into already crowded areas. Public funds can provide a coordinated network that individual operators might not create by themselves. Nevertheless, the expected use and ongoing operating costs should be examined rather than assuming an impressive new project is automatically a sound investment.
In my view, governments should protect basic road access and then give serious consideration to rail where it provides an effective shared alternative. A rural connection and a crowded urban corridor may require different solutions. Transport spending is most defensible when it connects actual destinations and makes the journey dependable, not when it follows a fixed preference without examining local circumstances.
In conclusion, I support greater priority for useful rail projects, but not the abandonment of roads. A connected system with realistic demand and proper maintenance is more valuable than a competition in which one network is expected to meet every need.
Targeted Improvement Tips
Related examples for this topic
Compare different bands on the same IELTS prompt.
In recent years, there has been considerable debate about whether governments should prioritize investment in railways over roads. I strongly agree that spending on railways is...
Band 8.0The allocation of governmental funds towards developing transportation infrastructure is a subject that sparks considerable debate, with persuasive arguments put forth from diff...
Band 7.0For development and prosperity of a country a well organised infrastructure is highly essential. For that reason, there should be more investment on rail tracts, instead of cons...
Band 6.0Railways and roads are a convenient mode of transport. There are a lot of projects undertaken by the Government to develop both railways and roads. Railways are a cost-friendly...
Band 5.0It’s often argued that governments should spend the budget on railways rather than roads. I completely agree with this opinion and think that the extra railways are much more es...
Band 4.0Both have some advantages and disadvantages. I disagree with this statement. The government should spend money more on roads rather then railways. If governments spend too much...