Essay writing strategies

The essay The only way to reduce the amount of traffic in cities today is by reducing the need for people to travel from home for work, education or shopping. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Identifying the issues Traffic in cities today is a problem Traffic problems are mainly due to individuals travelling for work, study or shopping purposes Today people can work, study or shop from home

Clarifying position Agreeing/disagreeing with the three ideas Agreeing partly but not agreeing it is the only way

Signalling your position with linking words Even though people can work from home, nevertheless , it is unrealistic to think they (people) would all want to. It is certainly true that distance learning is very efficient. However, there would be a lack of social contact for students. It may be the case that this presents a possible solution, but it would be a very unpopular one.

Putting the paragraphs in a logical order 1. Traffic is a problem and causes of traffic problems 2. Distance working, studying and shopping possibilities 3. Limitations of this solution 4. Homeworking can reduce the problems, but not the only solution

Signalling the organization 1. It is certainly true that today traffic in cities has become a major problem. Probably this is mainly due to individuals (instead of people) travelling for work, study (instead of education) or shopping purposes 2. It is also true today such daily commuting (instead of travelling) is not always necessary because people can do these things (avoiding repetition instead of travelling, education, shopping) from home. 3. However, even if everyone had the opportunity to work from home, it is unrealistic to think they would all want to. 4. So, in conclusion, I think while this practice (avoiding repetition) could decrease the traffic problems in our cities, it is mostly unlikely to be an acceptable solution. In terms of other solutions, perhaps we need to think of

Supporting main ideas It is certainly true that today traffic in cities has become a major problem. This is obvious from the number of vehicles on our roads and the amount of pollution they cause Probably this is mainly due to individuals travelling for work, study or shopping purposes. This is evident in the rush hours we experience every morning and evening. It is also true today such daily commuting is not always necessary because people can do these things from home. We can see this in the options Information Technology gives us today.

Using impersonal expression for a more academic style It’s obvious that/It is the case that /It is certainly true that/Probably this is mainly due to