You will have 20 minutes to plan, write and revise an essay about the topic below. Your response will be judged on how well you develop a position, organise your ideas, present supporting details, and control the elements of standard written English. You should write 200–300 words.
Large metropolitan areas are increasingly constructing underground transit tunnels to alleviate surface road congestion, despite the immense financial costs involved. Some people argue that public funds would be better invested in overground infrastructure. Do the benefits of subterranean transit tunnels outweigh the drawbacks?
0 words · target 200–300 · 20 minutes in the test · spell-check is off, as in the test
You will have 20 minutes to plan, write and revise an essay about the topic below. Your response will be judged on how well you develop a position, organise your ideas, present supporting details, and control the elements of standard written English. You should write 200–300 words.
Read them here; log in to answer and check them.
Megaprojects such as subsea road and rail tunnels are increasingly being constructed to connect isolated coastal regions to the mainland. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of constructing these underwater corridors.
Advances in automated tunnel boring machines now allow deep excavations to proceed with minimal human supervision. Some engineers argue that relying predominantly on automation in subterranean construction creates unacceptable safety hazards. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Support your position with relevant arguments and examples.
Want to answer the other 2?
Log in to practise Write Essay in the BandLadder app: the full question bank, instant scoring the way Pearson marks it, and answer explanations.
Ready for the whole test?
Take a full PTE mock with every question type, the real timings and a score on Pearson's 10–90 scale the moment you finish.
Try a free PTE mock →Keep practising
Practise every PTE question type
Free account · no card
© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy