Writing Task 2: Opinion (Agree/Disagree) Essay: Question 3
Syllabus W.task2
Transport is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in many countries.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that governments should ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the next ten years in order to combat climate change?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.
Show worked solution Hide worked solution
Worked solution
Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 response
Task Response
The essay takes and sustains a clear position (“I firmly agree… it is not merely reasonable but necessary”) and, critically, argues for the specific policy mechanism named in the prompt, a legally binding ban with a ten-year deadline, rather than simply asserting that electric cars are desirable in the abstract. Both reasons (urgency/emissions lock-in, and the coordination problem) are fully developed with a real-world reference and an explanation of its relevance, satisfying the prompt’s requirement for relevant examples.
Coherence & Cohesion
The paragraphing follows a clear logical progression: why the problem is urgent, then why market forces alone cannot solve it, then a conclusion that draws both threads together. Cohesive devices are varied and precise (“Because…”, “A further reason is…”, “given both… I am convinced that…”) rather than repetitive, and the colon before the Norway reference signals that an explanatory example is about to follow.
Lexical Resource
Topic-specific vocabulary is used accurately and naturally: “combustion-engine vehicle”, “coordination problem”, “phasing out”, “locks in emissions”. The essay avoids repeating “ban” mechanically, instead varying it with “prohibit”, “a firm ten-year deadline” and “a clear legal deadline”, each chosen to fit its grammatical context.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is deployed with full accuracy: a reason clause with “Because…”, a colon introducing an extended illustrative example, and a concessive clause (“however environmentally conscious”) embedded mid-sentence. Subject-verb agreement and article use remain accurate throughout even in long, multi-clause sentences.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
See commonMistakes above: the most frequent band 6 mistake on environmental policy prompts like this one is writing generally about climate change rather than directly evaluating the specific government action, a sales ban with a fixed deadline, that the question actually asks about.