How to read the question

• This is an opinion essay: To what extent do you agree or disagree requires a clear position in the introduction that stays the same through to the conclusion.
• The key phrase is rather than: the statement suggests choosing railways instead of roads, so you need to decide whether rail should replace road spending completely, receive a bigger share, or neither.
• The subject is government spending, so focus on public investment priorities such as efficiency, cost, the environment and who benefits, not on personal preferences for travelling by train or car.
• A partial position is natural and convincing, for example agreeing that rail deserves most new investment while arguing that existing roads must still be maintained.
• Remember that roads carry more than private cars: buses, lorries, emergency vehicles and cyclists all use them, which is a strong point for the opposing side.
• Avoid drifting into a general essay about traffic congestion or the dangers of cars without linking it back to how governments should spend money.

Suggested position

In my view, railways deserve the larger share of public transport investment because they move people and goods more efficiently and cleanly, although it would be unrealistic to neglect roads altogether.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase the statement about choosing between rail and road investment, then state a clear position: largely agree that railways should receive most of the money, but roads cannot be ignored.

2. 2

   Body paragraph 1: why railways deserve priority

   Explain that trains carry far more passengers and freight per unit of fuel, reducing congestion and emissions. Give an example such as high-speed rail in Japan or Spain, and add that new roads often fill up again because they encourage more driving.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 2: why roads still need funding

   Concede that rail is expensive and only practical on busy routes, so rural areas depend on roads. Mention buses, deliveries and emergency services, and point out that most goods and many rail journeys finish by road.

4. 4

   Conclusion

   Restate that railways should receive more investment than roads, while existing roads must still be maintained where trains are not a practical option.

Ideas and arguments

• A train can carry hundreds of passengers or the freight of many lorries, so rail is more efficient in terms of fuel and space.
• Shifting travellers from cars to trains reduces traffic congestion, carbon emissions and air pollution in cities.
• High-speed rail in countries such as Japan, Spain and France competes successfully with cars and short domestic flights.
• Building new roads often generates more traffic, so congestion returns within a few years, a problem known as induced demand.
• Railways are very expensive to build and only economical on routes with heavy demand, so they cannot serve every village.
• Rural communities rely on roads for buses, school transport, deliveries and ambulances.
• Almost all goods complete their journey by road, and poorly maintained roads increase accidents and harm the economy.
• Road investment can also be made greener, for example through bus lanes, cycle paths and charging points for electric vehicles.

Band 8+ model answer

286 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Response

The answer takes a clear position of largely agreeing, develops the main argument with specific reasons and examples, fairly acknowledges why roads still matter, and keeps the same position in the conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion

Each body paragraph is built around one central idea with a clear topic sentence, and linking devices such as therefore, in addition, nevertheless and however connect ideas without being mechanical.

Lexical Resource

Topic-specific vocabulary such as freight, congestion, carbon emissions, rural communities and emergency services is used precisely, and the key terms of the question are paraphrased naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

The essay combines conditional ideas, passive forms, relative clauses and modal verbs such as should and cannot accurately, with a good variety of sentence lengths and no noticeable errors.

Useful vocabulary

infrastructure

the basic systems a country needs, such as roads, railways and power supplies

public investment

money that a government spends on projects for the benefit of society

rail network

the system of railway lines and stations in a country

high-speed line

a railway built for trains travelling at very high speeds between cities

freight

goods transported in large quantities by train, lorry, ship or plane

traffic congestion

a situation where roads are so full that vehicles move very slowly

carbon emissions

carbon dioxide released into the air, for example by burning fuel

induced demand

the idea that building more roads encourages more people to drive

rural communities

people living in villages and the countryside

deteriorate

become gradually worse in condition

allocate funds

decide how much money goes to each purpose

a viable option

a choice that is practical and can work

the lion's share

the largest part of something, here of a budget

Common mistakes

• Writing a general essay about the advantages and disadvantages of trains and cars without addressing how governments should spend money.
• Ignoring the words rather than and failing to say whether roads should receive no money, less money or the same amount.
• Sitting on the fence by presenting both sides equally and never stating how far you agree, which limits the Task Response score.
• Assuming roads are used only by private cars and forgetting buses, lorries, cyclists and emergency vehicles.
• Using invented statistics such as trains reduce pollution by 90% instead of reasoned arguments and real examples.
• Repeating railways and roads in every sentence instead of paraphrasing with rail network, rail lines, road network and highways.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This question about whether governments should spend money on railways rather than roads is Writing Task 2 of Test 1 in Cambridge IELTS 11 Academic, published in 2016.

Can I partly agree with this statement?

Yes. Agreeing that railways should get most of the money while arguing that roads still need some investment is a perfectly valid position, as long as you state it clearly and keep it consistent.

Do I need to know real transport statistics?

No. Clear reasoning and well-known examples, such as high-speed trains in Japan or Spain, are enough. Invented statistics can make an essay less convincing.

How many words should I write for this Task 2?

Write at least 250 words; about 270-310 words is usually enough to develop two body paragraphs fully in 40 minutes.