Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

In many countries around the world, rural people are moving to cities, so the population in the countryside is decreasing.

Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

These days, citizens from rural area are moving to cities decreasing the population in rural area while increasing the population in cities. In my opinion, it imposes a negative impacts on society.

People are leaving villages for better opportunities in employment, study and other sectors. It helps to grow economy throughout the country by installing different super shops and shopping malls and other modern infrastructure. Moreover, people from different region are collaborating in one city, hence various traditions and cultures are mixing. It helps people to interact with different individuals which is good for someone's mental health. What's more, this helps people to experience different culture without travelling to another city.

On the other hand, the population of cities is increasing day by day and it creates an enormous pressure on local infrastructure for instance schools, hospitals, transpiration and so on. Since the infrastructure is not expanding with respect to overpopulation, people are facing overcrowded situation in everywhere. The traffic situation is becoming worse day by day. For example, we can focus on an recent concern in dhaka city, capital of Bangladesh. The amount on autorickshaws has been enormously increased in recent years. It causes traffic jam on main roads and the drivers are pretty reckless, they drive rickshaws desperately. That's why the number of accidents are rising. Moreover, the price of goods has been increased because of the overcrowd population. Accomodation is one of the main concerning issues for government these days. To accomodate huge number of population in a relatively small city is the biggest challenge for government. As our job market in limited, managing a proper job is another issue. As people find it difficult to have a job, they involve in different illegal activities like robery, pickpovketing etc. Increasing number of hawkers are also an issue. They occupy the footpath leaving small place for padestrians. As a result, the quality of lives has been degraded over time.

In conclusion, I would argue that, moving of people from urban areas to cities has a genuinely adverse impact on people's lives who are originally from cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that rural-to-urban migration is negative, and you support it with relevant consequences such as pressure on services, traffic, housing, employment and public safety. The Dhaka example makes the discussion more specific. However, the response only partly develops the question: the positive points about economic growth and cultural exchange are listed but not weighed against the disadvantages, and the conclusion does not accurately restate the issue. It says “moving of people from urban areas to cities,” although the task concerns people moving from rural areas to cities, and refers to people “originally from cities.” Clarify your position in the conclusion and explain more fully why the negative effects outweigh the benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph presenting benefits, a longer paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “As a result” help signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is uneven. The disadvantages paragraph contains many points in quick succession—traffic, prices, accommodation, jobs, crime and hawkers—without grouping or developing them, so the central argument becomes difficult to follow. Some connections are also unclear, such as the shift from rising prices to accommodation and then employment. Use separate, focused paragraphs for related effects, and make each topic sentence show how that group of points supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “local infrastructure,” “overcrowded,” “accommodation,” and “illegal activities,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more specific language in the Dhaka example. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, and several errors make the reader pause: “transpiration” for transport, “overcrowd population,” “proper job,” and “quality of lives.” Spelling errors such as “Accomodation,” “robery,” and “padestrians” also reduce accuracy. Build a reliable set of collocations for urban issues and check spelling carefully; for example, use “pressure on infrastructure,” “overcrowded city,” and “quality of life.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses beginning with “Since” and “As a result,” and most of the main ideas remain understandable. However, errors occur frequently in sentence structure and grammatical forms, which sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “it imposes a negative impacts,” where the subject and noun do not agree, and “the number of accidents are rising,” where the verb does not agree with the singular subject. Articles and prepositions are also inconsistent, as in “on an recent concern” and “in everywhere.” The final sentence has a confusing construction and meaning. Review subject–verb agreement, articles, and prepositions, and proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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