Problem/Solution 題最常見的翻車——problem 跟 solution 沒配對。考生 §2 談塞車，§3 卻談教育，看起來在寫兩篇 essay。本篇示範「兩個 problem 對應兩個 solution」的扣合寫法，以及怎麼把 solution 寫到「可執行」的層次。

題目

In many large cities, a shortage of affordable housing has become a serious issue.

What are the main causes of this problem, and what measures could governments take to solve it?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

題型：Problem/Solution (causes + measures)。結構設計：兩個 cause → 兩個對應的 measure。

完整範文（288 字）

¹ A severe shortage of affordable housing has become one of the defining social problems of contemporary urban life, pushing rents in cities from London to Taipei well beyond what average workers can sustain. ² This essay will first examine two principal causes of the crisis before proposing government measures that directly address each one.

³ The first and most structural cause is the mismatch between new construction and population growth. ⁴ In most major cities, annual housing completions have failed to keep pace with arrivals, partly because restrictive planning laws make it slow and expensive to build at density near transport hubs. ⁵ The second major cause is the treatment of housing as a financial asset rather than a place to live: a growing proportion of properties, particularly in prime districts, are purchased by investors and left vacant for much of the year, which artificially tightens supply for actual residents.

⁶ Tackling these two causes requires two correspondingly targeted measures. ⁷ To address the supply shortfall, governments should systematically reform zoning rules — raising permitted heights near metro stations and fast-tracking approval for purpose-built rental projects — which can plausibly double output within a decade, as Auckland demonstrated after its 2016 rezoning. ⁸ To tackle the speculative-demand problem, authorities could introduce meaningful annual levies on vacant properties, combined with higher transaction taxes for non-resident buyers. ⁹ Vancouver's empty-homes tax, for example, returned an estimated 18,000 units to the rental market within three years of introduction.

¹⁰ In conclusion, although the affordable-housing crisis is driven by both restricted supply and speculative demand, governments that act on both fronts simultaneously — through planning reform and targeted taxation — stand a realistic chance of restoring balance to urban housing markets.

句句解析

§1 — Intro

  • 句 1 (Hook): "...one of the defining social problems of contemporary urban life, pushing rents in cities from London to Taipei..." — 全球化視角 + 具體城市 = Band 7 開場。
  • 句 2 (Signpost): "...examine two principal causes... before proposing government measures that directly address each one." — 明確預告「兩 cause + 兩對應 measure」的結構。這一句讓評分員知道你有 plan。

§2 — Two causes（結構扣合的前半）

  • 句 3 (Cause 1 topic): "The first and most structural cause is the mismatch between new construction and population growth." — 用 structural 顯示深度。
  • 句 4 (Cause 1 explain): "...restrictive planning laws make it slow and expensive to build at density near transport hubs." — 把原因具體到「限建法規」，後面 solution 才能對應。
  • 句 5 (Cause 2 — 複合句): "...treatment of housing as a financial asset rather than a place to live... purchased by investors and left vacant..." — 第二個 cause 用長句承載三個 sub-points（定義 → 現象 → 後果）。

§3 — Two matching measures（扣合的後半）

  • 句 6 (Signpost): "Tackling these two causes requires two correspondingly targeted measures." — 一句話讓讀者知道「下面的 solution 會跟上面的 cause 一一對應」。這是 Problem/Solution 題得高分的關鍵句。
  • 句 7 (Measure 1 + example): "To address the supply shortfall, governments should systematically reform zoning rules... as Auckland demonstrated after its 2016 rezoning." — 具體機制 + 真實案例。
  • 句 8 (Measure 2): "To tackle the speculative-demand problem, authorities could introduce meaningful annual levies..." — To address / To tackle 平行結構明顯扣回 §2。
  • 句 9 (Measure 2 example): "Vancouver's empty-homes tax, for example, returned an estimated 18,000 units..." — 具體城市 + 具體數字 + 具體時程。

§4 — Conclusion

  • 句 10 (Recap structure): "driven by both restricted supply and speculative demand... through planning reform and targeted taxation..." — 一句話收攏兩個 cause + 兩個 solution。

四項 Band 7 證據

Task Response: 7

  • 兩個問題都回答（causes + measures）
  • Cause 跟 measure 完全扣合（Cause 1 ↔ Measure 1, Cause 2 ↔ Measure 2）
  • 每個 solution 都有具體案例（Auckland, Vancouver）

Coherence & Cohesion: 7

  • 段落功能分明（§2 = causes, §3 = matching measures, §4 = recap）
  • 句首扣合語: To address the supply shortfall / To tackle the speculative-demand problem 平行
  • Linkers: particularly, rather than, correspondingly, for example

Lexical Resource: 7

  • Topic-specific: housing completions, zoning, density, speculative demand, empty-homes tax, transaction taxes
  • Academic: structural, mismatch, levies, plausibly, targeted
  • Precision: pushing rents... well beyond what, artificially tightens, returned an estimated

Grammar Range: 7

  • Relative clause: measures that directly address each one, properties... which artificially tightens supply
  • Passive: are purchased by investors and left vacant
  • Dash inserts (advanced punctuation): — raising permitted heights near metro stations and fast-tracking approval —
  • Complex NP: the treatment of housing as a financial asset rather than a place to live

3 個可立即套用的技巧

技巧 1：Cause 跟 Measure 一對一扣合

最簡單的模板：Cause A、Cause B → Measure A（對應 A）、Measure B（對應 B）。寫之前在草稿紙上畫箭頭，確認每個 solution 都能找到它對應的 problem。

技巧 2：Solution 要具體到「可執行」

不要寫 The government should do more. 那是 Band 5。寫具體的政策工具：zoning reform, vacancy tax, subsidy, rent cap, grant, levy, quota... 越具體越 Band 7+。

技巧 3：每個 Measure 加一個真實城市例子

Auckland rezoning, Vancouver vacancy tax, Singapore HDB, Vienna public housing——這些真實案例就算記不清細節，大概方向對就沒問題。IELTS 不查證，但評分員看到 Auckland 2016 rezoning 會直接給 Lexical + Task Response 的印象分。

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