GRE Argument Topic 25

NOTE: The above topic has wording similar to Argument Task 27 of this Website. However, if you read carefully you will notice that the topic and the task instructions are different. Hence, it is very important to read the topic as well as its instructions completely before you start to write your response.

Sample 1:

The writer of this editorial is expressing his opinion about a way to relieve apparent traffic jams on Blue Highway. Either the writer or people he has spoken to complain that commuting time between the suburbs and the city center has doubled. The motorists’ lobby proposes adding a lane to the highway, but the writer, citing trouble on Green Highway since it added a lane for cars, suggests that a bike lane would be a better solution to the problem on Blue Highway. Decision makers need more evidence about the traffic situation on both highways before opting for either choice.

The reader assumes that a doubling of commuting time must mean a doubling of the number of cars traveling on Blue Highway. An increase in the number of vehicles may be partially responsible, but it could be that the highway department reduced the speed on the highway as well. Where have the extra vehicles come from? The decision makers may discover that another traffic artery is partially or completed closed for construction, and the increased traffic may be temporary.

Comparing Blue Highway’s problems to those of Green Highway in unproductive. The two roads carry traffic from different areas and, maybe, for different purposes. To support the addition of a bike lane, the writer must present evidence that bike lanes effectively reduce automobile traffic in cities where there is a large volume of commuters. That should be a simple matter of contacting other urban areas that have bike lanes used by commuters.

For commuters to agree that biking is a suitable alternative to driving to work, they will need evidence of security for their bikes in the city. Are there now or will there be in the future facilities where bicyclists can safely park their bikes during the work day. They also might need some incentive to ride bikes rather than drive cars to work each day. What have other cities done if anything? After all, these cyclists are helping to reduce pollution and rush-hour traffic jams. Shouldn’t there be some reward? Has the author surveyed cyclists to determine their number and their willingness to commute by bike? Has he checked a meteorological survey to discover how many days a year, on average, are suitable for traveling by bike?

Can this writer provide evidence that the city can save construction costs by adding bike lanes rather than another lane for vehicles? One might imagine that the specifications for a bike lane would be less onerous than that for a lane of traffic expected to carry thousands of passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicles. Because bikes travel in the same direction as motorized vehicles, the city would need to build a lane on each side of the highway. Is there room on both sides of the highway for a bike lane?

In a culture that has a continuing love affair with the automobile, the author will need a raft of evidence to support the building of bike lanes rather than an additional lane for cars and trucks. He also needs evidence to show how an additional lane for vehicles is not the answer to alleviating the commuter dilemmas on Blue Highway.

Sample 2:

The writer of the letter to the editor suggests that in order to reduce the commuting time on Blue Highway a bicycle lane should be added instead of another traffic lane. This will help, according to him, because many citizens of Shady Village are keen on bicycling. Moreover, in response to a questionnaire, most of the citizens confirmed that they would like to bicycle more than they do. However, the writer is not able to give a convincing reason for his suggestion. There are many other factors, which need to be considered before taking the decision which point towards a different direction than that suggested by the writer.

The traffic on a highway depends upon the places it connects as well as the convenience it offers. The rush of two different highways cannot be compared since both the highways offer connectivity to different places. The writer says that adding an additional traffic lane on Green Highway increased the traffic on it in the past winters. However, this may not be the case with Blue Highway. Firstly, the traffic experienced by both the highways is different. Therefore, the rush hour traffic on both highways should be treated independently. Adding another traffic lane is one of the good options for solving the problem of too much traffic on the highway and it should definitely be considered. Secondly, increased traffic on Green Highway has been observed only in the past winters. It is likely that this is a temporary change and is due to closure of another highway for some time. There could be some repair work in progress on another route, which has diverted the traffic to Green Highway. It is also likely that in winters other routes become inaccessible due to snow and other such difficulties, due to which the traffic on Green Highway had increase in the last winters. However, Blue Highway may not experience any additional increase in traffic due to an additional traffic lane being built. It is possible that no other routes are closed to divert the traffic towards Blue Highway. Hence, unlike Green Highway the additional traffic lane might prove useful in reducing the rush hour traffic.

Considering that Blue Highway connects the suburbs of Shady Village and Bright City, the traffic on the highway would consist of two-wheelers as well as four-wheelers. The possibility of people using bicycle for commuting through a highway are very bleak. Making a separate bicycle lane would help only if there are too many bicyclists on Blue Highway. However, the argument does not give an idea of the type of traffic that Blue Highway experiences. If there were very few bicyclists commuting through the highway, making a separate bicycle lane would not solve the problem of rush hour traffic. Therefore, before coming to any decision, the composition of traffic on Blue Highway should be studied and accordingly an additional lane should be built.

There is a difference between what people like and what they do. People in Shady Village may be fond of bicycling, however, how often they actually commute using bicycle is the question. It is possible that even if people are enthusiastic about bicycling and they would like to bicycle more hours per week than they currently do, they are not able to do so due to the requirements of their jobs. Bicycles can be used only for short distances. Moreover, it needs time to commute through bicycles, however, if people cannot spare enough time, they will commute through other vehicles. Therefore, forming an additional bicycle lane might be a wrong decision since the circumstances of people might not allow them to use bicycles on Blue Highway, even if they are avid bicyclists.

It is clear by now that the argument is not perceived in the correct light. Therefore, the suggestion it forwards is not practical and a detailed study of the traffic and situation of Blue Highway should be considered before coming to any conclusion.