Learner builds an it-cleft to single out one element of a sentence, and uses it only where something is being contrasted or corrected.
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Six parts. The plain sentence is given above.
Build an it-cleft that singles out the ban. The plain sentence is: *the ban reduced congestion in the first year*.
Six clefts. Two of them deny nothing.
It was the government that introduced the scheme in 2019. What does this deny?
The frame, the denial, and the cost.
It was the ban that reduced congestion.
It + was or is + the thing + that + the rest.
Whatever sits in the middle is the element in the spotlight.
Twelve contexts. Six resolve to the plain sentence.
Sort each item into the correct category
Eight contexts. Four are plain.
Your reader believes the fuel price cut congestion. The ban reduced congestion. →
First sentence of a body paragraph. Congestion charges change how people travel. →
You have just listed three possible causes. The third one explains the fall. →
A neutral report of what happened. The council introduced the scheme in 2019. →
The previous sentence dated the scheme to 2015. The scheme began in 2019. →
Describing the mechanism step by step. Drivers compare the charge against a fare. →
You are answering an objection you have just quoted. Enforcement, not the charge, was the problem. →
Introducing a topic for the first time. Free transport removes the cost advantage of driving. →
One wrong belief, corrected two ways.
The belief your reader holds: Congestion fell in London because fuel prices rose that year.
You know it fell because of the congestion charge.
Version 1: correct it with an it-cleft. Version 2: correct it with a plain sentence.
Then say which you would put in an essay.
One per line.
One sentence.