Report on Traffic Jam in Dhaka

Begin with the effect rather than the fact — hours lost, ambulances stuck, workers late — then give the causes: too many vehicles, narrow roads, unplanned parking, indiscipline. End with what the authorities propose. A traffic report is about consequences, so lead with them.

The question: Write a report on the traffic jam in Dhaka city.

The format

Find what made today different

Congestion in Dhaka is permanent, so the report needs the particular cause — rain, waterlogging, a closure, a procession. That goes in the first sentence with the effect.

• Lead with hours lost, then the cause.
• Name the day and the time it built up.
• 🚨 Without a specific cause there is no news.

Name the route and the points

Second paragraph: which corridor, which intersections, how much longer journeys took. Named places are what make a traffic report local.

• Three named points is enough.
• Give a comparison — twice the usual time.
• One affected group: office workers, school buses.

Police first, researchers last

What traffic police say they did, then the structural causes attributed to researchers, then projects under way. The structural explanation is background and goes at the bottom.

• ⚠️ Do not predict when the problem will be solved.

Model answer

Model answer (about 195 words)

Commuters lose hours as gridlock grips city roads

Staff Correspondent

Dhaka, 5 September: Commuters in the capital spent several hours in stationary traffic on Thursday morning as congestion built up on major routes following overnight rain and waterlogging at several intersections.

Traffic on the route from Gabtoli to Motijheel moved slowly from about eight in the morning, with tailbacks reported at Shyamoli, Farmgate and Kakrail. Office workers said journeys that normally take an hour had taken twice that. School buses were among the worst affected, and several schools in the Dhanmondi area reported late arrivals through the morning.

Traffic police said waterlogging at three points had reduced usable road width and that vehicles breaking down in standing water had made matters worse. Additional officers were deployed at the affected intersections from mid-morning.

Transport researchers have repeatedly pointed to the underlying causes — a low proportion of road space, unplanned parking and the absence of an integrated public transport network. Work on several mass transit routes is continuing, but officials acknowledge that relief on the ground will not be felt for some years.

What earns and loses marks

• Name specific points on the route. Shyamoli, Farmgate and Kakrail make the report local; “the roads of Dhaka” makes it an essay.
• Put the numbers in the first sentence. A news report leads with how many, where and when; anything else in the opening line is an essay opening in disguise.
• 🚨 Keep yourself out of it. “We should all be careful on the roads” is a sentence from a composition and loses the register mark immediately.
• Attribute every claim you could not have witnessed. Unattributed figures are the clearest sign of an invented report.
• About 180 to 220 words in four short paragraphs is the right length; newspaper paragraphs are short by convention.