Problem/Solution 題最容易寫歪的地方：原因和解方不配對。Band 7 要求提出的解方剛好對應前面寫的原因。本篇示範。

題目

In many large cities, traffic congestion has become a serious daily problem, with commuters often spending hours in slow-moving vehicles.

What are the main causes of this, and what measures could governments take to address 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)。

完整範文（293 字）

¹ Chronic traffic congestion has become a defining feature of urban life in cities from Taipei to São Paulo, eroding both productivity and quality of life on a scale that now demands serious intervention. ² This essay will identify the two principal causes — car-centric planning and under-invested public transport — before proposing targeted measures that directly address each.

³ The most fundamental cause is the way modern cities have been designed around private vehicles rather than people. ⁴ Decades of decisions favouring wider roads, abundant parking and suburban sprawl have made driving the default choice for most daily journeys, locking in traffic volumes that no amount of road-building can satisfy. ⁵ A closely related cause is the chronic under-funding of urban public transport: buses stuck in the same congestion they are meant to relieve, and metro networks that stop several miles short of the commuter belts they need to serve. ⁶ A 2023 Asian Development Bank review of 30 major cities found that average commute times had increased by 23% over a decade precisely where transit investment had failed to keep pace with population growth.

⁷ Addressing these causes requires paired structural and financial measures. ⁸ Governments should first introduce congestion charges in dense city centres, which have reduced peak-hour traffic by around 30% in London and Stockholm, while ring-fencing the revenue for transit upgrades. ⁹ Second, authorities must redesign streets to prioritise buses, cycling and pedestrians — a harder political task, but the only way to dislodge car dominance at its roots. ¹⁰ Complementary policies such as flexible working hours and remote-work incentives would further thin rush-hour flows at minimal public cost.

¹¹ In conclusion, congestion results largely from decades of car-focused planning combined with under-funded alternatives. ¹² Pricing the problem, reinvesting the revenue, and redesigning streets around people offer the most realistic route out.

句句解析

§1 — Intro

  • 句 1 (Hook): "Chronic traffic congestion has become a defining feature of urban life from Taipei to São Paulo..." — 地名對仗強化全球性。
  • 句 2 (Signpost): "...identify the two principal causes... before proposing targeted measures that directly address each." — 明確告知評分員是 two-part structure + 預告 pairing。✓ Task Response

§2 — Causes（兩個配對的原因）

  • 句 3 (Cause 1): "The most fundamental cause is the way modern cities have been designed..." — 結構性原因（不是個人原因）。
  • 句 4 (Develop): "Decades of decisions... have made driving the default choice... locking in traffic volumes..." — participle clause（locking in）展示 grammar。
  • 句 5 (Cause 2): "A closely related cause is the chronic under-funding..." — closely related 把兩個原因串起來，為 §3 的配對解方鋪路。
  • 句 6 (Evidence): "A 2023 ADB review of 30 major cities... 23%..." — 機構 + 樣本 + 數字。

§3 — Solutions（直接配對原因）

  • 句 7 (Signpost): "Addressing these causes requires paired structural and financial measures." — paired 明示配對。
  • 句 8 (Solution 1 — 對應 Cause 1 car-centric): "...congestion charges... reduced peak-hour traffic by around 30% in London and Stockholm..." — 真實城市證據。
  • 句 9 (Solution 2 — 對應 Cause 2 under-funded transit): "...redesign streets to prioritise buses, cycling and pedestrians..." — 結構性對應。
  • 句 10 (Complementary): "Complementary policies such as flexible working hours..." — 補充層次。

§4 — Conclusion

  • 句 11 (Restate causes): "...decades of car-focused planning combined with under-funded alternatives." — 呼應 §2。
  • 句 12 (Restate solutions): "Pricing the problem, reinvesting the revenue, and redesigning streets..." — 三個 gerund parallel 收尾。✓ Grammar & Coherence

四大評分項證據表

| 評分項 | 本篇證據 | Band | |--------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------| | Task Response | 兩個原因、兩個配對解方、直接回應題目兩問；結論兩問都複述；舉真實城市數據 | 7 | | Coherence & Cohesion | 段落功能分明；signpost 明確（paired measures, Second, Complementary）；三個 gerund parallel 收尾；referent 穩定 | 7 | | Lexical Resource | Topic-specific（congestion charges, ring-fencing, suburban sprawl, transit investment, commuter belts）；搭配（dislodge car dominance） | 7 | | Grammar Range | Passive（have been designed）；participle（locking in, ring-fencing）；relative clause（that no amount of road-building can satisfy）；gerund subjects | 7 |

三個可複製的 Problem/Solution 動作

1. 原因和解方編號對應

§2 講 Cause 1 和 Cause 2，§3 的 Solution 1 和 Solution 2 就要剛好對應。考生最常見：原因寫 A、B，解方寫 C、D——完全沒配對，Task Response 直接 6.0。

2. Intro 寫出「two-part」架構

"...identify the two principal causes... before proposing targeted measures that directly address each." ——一句話讓評分員看到你懂 Problem/Solution 的要求。

3. 真實城市 + 真實數字

"congestion charges... reduced peak-hour traffic by around 30% in London and Stockholm" ——Problem/Solution 題必須給可信的 policy 例子。可改造：新加坡 ERP、紐約 CBD congestion pricing、巴黎 piétonnisation。

延伸閱讀：Task 2 五種題型判斷・Task 2 Problem/Solution 範文・Task 2 常考主題 · 政府