Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-08

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 6.0)

Rural people are moving towards cities with the hope of having more opportunities and living a better life. While they may benefit by moving to cities, I think it is a negative development. It makes the cities overpopulated and thus harming its' residents and environment.

Countrysides might be full of natural beauties, but it provides very few opportunities to its' residents. In most rural places, not only there are a very few schools, hospitals, and workplaces, the quality of these schools and hospitals are almost never maintained. There's a wide desparity in opportunities between urban and rural schools and hospitals. Rural people belive they will have a better life in cities insofar as cities provide more options. For example, in 2021, almsot 5% of Belkuchis' (a village located in Sirajganj) population moved to Dhaka city because there were not enough factories in their area and thus no job were available except farming.

As the countryside population is decreasing, we cna see an upward trajectory in the popution in cities. Compare to the past, more and more people are interested in living in the cities. Although moving to cities may be beneficial for an individual, it puts an increasing pressure on the cities. It exacerbate the traffic congestion and environmental pollutions. It has became hard for the cities to accomodate this huge amount of people. For example, Dhaka is already over populated, more than 1 crore people are living in dhaka. Nevertheless, more rural poeple are moving towards this city. So the quality of life of its' residents is only getting worse. Instead, if more factories were built on the countrysides, then I believe less people would have been interested to move to the city.

So, in conclusion, I believe, the downward trend that can be seen in countryside population is a negative effect. As more people are moving to cities, it's making the life of city people worse. Government should take steps, like building more factories or creating more job opportunities for the rural people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: although rural migrants may gain opportunities, you consider the trend negative because it increases pressure on cities. You address both the reasons people leave rural areas and the consequences for urban residents, and the examples about Belkuchi and Dhaka make the discussion relevant. The proposal to build factories in rural areas also supports your argument. Some points, however, are more fully explained than others: the shortage and poor quality of rural services are listed, but their effects on migration could be developed further, and the claim that urban life is worsening would benefit from more specific explanation. The response already shows a clear, supported argument; fuller development of each key point would make it more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs explain rural push factors and urban consequences, and the conclusion restates your position and recommendation. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “Although,” and “So, in conclusion” help readers follow the argument. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. “As the countryside population is decreasing” does not smoothly introduce the point about city growth, and “Compare to the past” is not a clear transition. The reference in “It exacerbate” also makes the subject of the sentence less secure. Use more precise links between cause and effect, and make each paragraph’s opening sentence clearly signal its main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “opportunities,” “disparity,” “traffic congestion,” “environmental pollution,” and “accommodate.” These choices help explain both rural disadvantages and urban pressures, and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, several spelling errors, including “desparity,” “belive,” “almsot,” and “popution,” alongside inaccurate or awkward word choices such as “natural beauties,” “upward trajectory in the population,” and “over populated.” Some phrases are also repeated, particularly “moving to cities” and “opportunities.” Aim for accurate collocations and check spelling carefully; a more varied, precise vocabulary would make the argument sound more natural and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a useful mix of simple and complex structures, including “While they may benefit by moving to cities” and “Although moving to cities may be beneficial for an individual.” Most errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your argument, but some sentence patterns and verb forms are inaccurate. For example, “It makes the cities overpopulated and thus harming” needs parallel structure, while “It exacerbate” and “no job were available” show subject–verb agreement problems. There are also errors in possessives and articles, as in “its' residents” and “the quality of these schools and hospitals are.” Review agreement, possessive forms, and sentence construction, then proofread each sentence for a complete and consistent grammatical pattern.

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