IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic
Air traffic is increasingly leading to more noise, pollution, and airport construction. One reason for this is the growth in low-cost passenger flights, often to holiday destinations. Some people say that government should try to reduce air traffic by taxing it more heavily. Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
One of the highly controversial issues today relates to whether air travel and increased number of airports are negatively impacting the environment or that they have enabled more people to travel to various destinations around the world without having to be out of pocket. I strongly agree with the latter view due to several reasons that I will discuss in greater detail in my essay.
On one side of the argument there are people who argue that the drawbacks of increased air traffic considerably outweigh its advantages and that governments should mitigate the negative influence of cheap air flights by inflicting more taxes on the carriers of these flights. The main reason for believing this is that the increasing number of airports and the stupendous number of flights have remarkably affected the environment. This is seen in the unprecedented levels of air pollution and noise pollution recorded in the past two decades. One good illustration of this is the excessive air pollution levels that are recorded in big industrial cities such as Beijing in China and Jubail in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is easy to see why this argument has gained support.
On the other hand, it is also possible to make the opposing case. It is often argued that, nowadays, low-cost flights have enabled people to travel to far away destinations that they otherwise could have never visited. A second point is that affordable air travel can unquestionably contribute to booming of international trade and tourism, hence creating more job opportunities to many people around the globe. A particularly good example here is a study conducted by the European tourism bureau which concluded that the number of European tourists visiting France trebled in the period after low fare flights were introduced in Europe. Thus, it goes without saying that this viewpoint is credible and realistic too.
After having discussed the most pertinent points of this issue, I feel that the only logical conclusion is that the advantages reaped by low fare flights such as the flourishing of tourism and international trade outweigh their disadvantages. Hence, I am strongly inclined to the opinion that supports low fare air travel.
Total Words: 360
Task Achievement: 8.5
Coherence & Cohesion: 8
Lexical resources: 7
Overall Score: Band 8
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