Increasing Fuel Cost to Solve Environmental Problems

The best way to solve the world’s environmental problems is to increase the cost of fuel. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Annotated response

6 correction notes

Showing 6 correction notes.

While vehicle emissions are a significant source of pollution, I disagree with raising fuel prices as a solution. has limited effectiveness and may cause for those reliant on cars.

Raising fuel prices may not substantially reduce car usage, especially for people in rural areas with limited public transport. For these individuals, higher fuel costs only add without offering alternatives. This policy would disproportionately affect lower-income people, who are already impacted by rising living expenses.

Additionally, higher fuel prices can lead to unintended economic consequences, such as higher costs for food and goods due to increased transportation expenses. This could lead to inflation and place further strain on those with limited incomes, making it an unfair approach to environmental policy.

Instead, governments should focus on improving public transportation, promoting electric vehicles, and investing in renewable energy. For example, Norway’s approach of subsidizing electric vehicles and building a charging network has effectively reduced emissions without the negative impacts of a .

In conclusion, while raising fuel prices may yield minor environmental benefits, it is not a sustainable or fair solution. Investing in is a more effective and inclusive way to address environmental challenges.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The response presents a clear, consistent disagreement with the prompt and supports it with relevant reasoning and a concrete national example, which is its strongest aspect. The main limitation is that the essay falls 45 words short of the expected length, leaving some arguments, particularly the alternatives paragraph, less developed than they could be. Language is generally accurate and varied throughout.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

6.5

The position is clear and consistently maintained with relevant main ideas and a supporting example, but the response is 45 words under the minimum length, so some ideas receive only limited development.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Ideas are logically organised into clear paragraphs with effective linking devices and a natural progression from disagreement to alternatives and conclusion.

Lexical Resource

7.0

Vocabulary is sufficiently flexible and precise for the topic, with appropriate collocations such as 'disproportionately affect', 'unintended economic consequences', and 'sustainable or fair solution'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

7.0

A variety of complex structures is used with good control, including concessive clauses and relative constructions, and errors are rare and non-impeding.