Unit 2

Transport
 Learning objectives
• Understand key vocabulary for urban-travel
• Read an essay about traffic congestion and choose the best
title.
• Read and complete a table with details about solutions to traffic
congestion problems.
• Make an inferences about the impact on people of the problems
surrounding traffic congestion.
• Synthesize information from a news article about Masdar City in
the UAE and an essay about traffic congestion in a discussion.
 cycle

practical
fuel

government

engineering
vehicles

emergency
●Traffic congestion Essay/Report
Tips:The title of a passage is the summary of
its main idea. It’s necessary to grab the gist of
the passage by understanding the first and/or
the last paragraph of the passage.
*Thesis/ Thesis statement
address the
issue/problem

background info.
of the problem

thesis
stress on drivers(wasted time) economic loss
blocked access for emergency negative effects on the
service environment(fuel
waste&pollution)
*paragraph
progression
When listing ideas, you can use the words and phrases
(cohesive devices) below to make your writing coherent:
• Firstly,…/ First of all,…/ To begin with,…/in the first place,
…
secondly,…/ thirdly, …

• what is more, …
also,… /next,…/ besides,…
moreover,…/ additionally,…/ in addition, …
apart from that,…/ aside from that,…

• finally,… / last but not least,…

 result
tunnels travel

fuel
jobs

health traffic

congestion
night
bus
*How to offer
solutions?

The most obvious

solutions involve …
This means …. +
advantages.
However, …. +
disadvantages.
Other solutions to … are to
….
If …, + advantages.
However, …. +
disadvantages.
A more popular solution would be to ….
Although + advantages, …. + disadvantages.
Another possibility is
to….
Advantages,
A disadvantage for
… is that ….

*allow sb to do=make
it possible for sb to
do
allow the flexibility
for sb to do
*Expressions
“be to do”
How to offer solutions
involve
*The most obvious solutions _______ engineering.
Other, more creative, solutions to the congestion problem,
are to
________increase the tax on fuel ...
is to
A more popular solution, therefore, ________ promote
is to
other forms of transport.../One suggestion ______encourage
people to cycle more.
is to
Another possibility _______ persuade people to use...
*Complementary expressions for the structure:

One effective approach to solve the problem is …

Besides, to do … is also a feasible choice.

If … can be done, this issue could be largely alleviated.

The benefit of this measure would be ….. However, it would also lead
to..
This solution may have positive effects on … On the other hand, it…
Although it has the merits outlined above, it may also ……
This approach would be beneficial to …, yet it might be detrimental to
….
*advantages = disadvantages
Most of the methods have advantages as well as disadvantages.
… may bring both benefits and drawbacks in equal measure

advantages > disadvantages or advantages< disadvantages

The advantages of … may outweigh its disadvantages.
As for… , its detriments may overshadow/eclipse its benefits.
It is a positive trend/phenomenon/.. rather than a negative
one.
*How to conclude?

restate
the thesis

call for action /offer

recommendation
 restatement
P76

summary

offer personal
opinions
*Essay Structure
Problem-solution argumentative essay
Part 1 Introduction: How to address the issue?
identify the problems&arouse
traffic congestion has become a burningthe attention
issue + the problem should be solved
thesis statements negative effects brought by
traffic congestions measures
Part 2 Body: taken by governments to reduce
the traffic from different aspects
Solutions1/2/3...
solutions
Part 3 Conclusion:
How to bring the essay
there into
are both conclusion?
benefits and drawbacks of the solutions
+encourage alternative forms of transport
What should be included in a conclusion?
 Assignment
1. Finish the online assignment (Unit 1)
2. Extensive reading
The growth of bike-sharing schemes around the world