Increase in Global Flights and Air Travel Taxation

The world has seen an enormous increase in flights for leisure, business and commercial purposes around the world over recent years. What do you think are the main advantages and disadvantages of such flights? Do you think flights should be taxed more?

Annotated response

3 correction notes

Showing 3 correction notes.

The increase in air travel at a rapid pace for leisure, business, and commerce has changed the operation of the world. The expansion of the aviation industry brought many upsides and disadvantages in terms of its environmental and societal impacts. The essay will discuss these reasons in the forthcoming paragraphs.

Air travel is one of the major factors that contribute to global development. Firstly, it helps to increase the interchange between nations and even people who come from different continents to travel for business, fun, or get acquainted with each other's cultures. To elaborate, companies can hire people and do business in other countries . On the other hand, the number of air travelers is many problems such as environmental damage. Aircraft are one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere global warming. For instance, the aviation sector accounts for about 2-3% of yearly global CO2 emissions.

Moreover, the introduction of higher taxes on air transport is an issue that is debated strongly from different perspectives. This is because new taxes will reduce unnecessary trips which can help in cutting down carbon emissions. The government could use the money raised from the tax to fund the development of green modes of transport like electric planes or super-fast trains. Besides, if the prices of flights were to go up, air travel would become a luxury for low-income earners with the result that accessibility would be reduced and economic inequality would be further aggravated.

In conclusion, the increase in flights has brought about drastic changes in global connectivity and economic growth, but at the same time, it has been a source of critical environmental problems.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response discusses relevant effects of air travel and presents both benefits and drawbacks of higher taxes. Its main limitation is the absence of a judgement on whether flights should be taxed more: the consequences are described, but the conclusion does not resolve the question. Some awkward wording and sentence construction also reduce clarity.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

6.0

The response discusses advantages and disadvantages of flights and explores consequences of higher taxes. However, it does not state whether the writer supports increased taxation. The conclusion returns to the effects of air travel without resolving that second question.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas are organised into logical paragraphs with clear progression and appropriate cohesive devices, although linking is at times mechanical and the taxation paragraph mixes benefits and drawbacks closely together.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary has sufficient range for the topic, including "greenhouse gases", "global connectivity" and "economic inequality". Some phrasing lacks precision, such as describing the expansion of aviation as bringing "upsides and disadvantages in terms of its environmental and societal impacts", without making the affected outcomes clear.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A range of complex structures is used with generally good control, but frequent minor slips, such as 'the interchange between nations and even people who come... to travel', slightly reduce accuracy.