Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-10

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)

The increasing prevalnce of shifting of people from rural to urban areas has generated considerable discussion. While this trend may entail certain positive impact, I consider it largely a negative developement because of its detrimental impacts on environment and country's economic growth.

One compelling reason for viewing this development negatively is that it could lead to over population in cities which can ultimately cause several serious environmental concerns such as escalated air pollution and increased traffic congestion. Sudden urbanisation has given rise to the pressing environmental issues as population in cities grows, usage of vehicals and industries increases to meet the citizen's demands, releasing harmful chemicals in the air and congested traffic routes, consequently leading to polluted environment. This is particularly evident in the big cities of Pakistan such as Karachi and Lahore where pollution and contamination rate has hiked from past few years due to mass population shift.

Another important consideration is that decreased population in rural areas can effect countries economic growth. As most of the agricultural gross income of the country is generated by rural farmers, this trend can effect annual production and can lead to reduced resources of the country. For example wheat, rice, peanuts etc are imported mainly from rural areas of the Pakistan but as most of the people have started to prefer living in the city areas to avail facilities such as quality education and better job opportunities, this may lower annual gross income of the country which can further cause economic crisis.

In conclusion, I regard this moving to cities a negative development because of enhanced environmental challenges and threat to economic growth of the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear from the introduction: you regard rural-to-urban migration as largely negative, and the conclusion restates this view. You address the question with two relevant reasons—environmental pressure in cities and possible harm to agricultural production—and support them with examples such as Karachi and Lahore and crops including wheat and rice. This covers the task well. However, some points are asserted more than explained: the link between fewer rural residents and lower national economic growth needs clearer steps or evidence, and the environmental paragraph could distinguish the effects of population growth from those of migration itself. Developing these explanations more fully and acknowledging the limited positive impact mentioned in the introduction would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting separate reasons, and a conclusion. The progression from urban environmental pressures to rural economic consequences is easy to follow, and signposts such as “One compelling reason” and “Another important consideration” help identify the argument. Cohesion is not always smooth, however. The environmental paragraph repeats the idea of population growth and pollution, while the long sentence beginning “Sudden urbanisation has given rise” packs several causes and effects together. Some references, such as “this trend” and “this development,” could be made more precise. To strengthen the flow, reduce repeated claims and divide complex explanations into clearer steps, using linking phrases only where they show a genuine relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “environmental concerns,” “traffic congestion,” “agricultural gross income,” and “economic crisis.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning is generally understandable. However, several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation problems reduce precision: “prevalnce,” “developement,” “vehicals,” and “effect” where “affect” is intended. Phrases such as “pollution and contamination rate has hiked” and “resources of the country” are also unnatural or vague in context. Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than adding formal-sounding words; checking spelling and choosing precise terms for production, income, and pollution would make your vocabulary more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a conditional structure in “this may lower annual gross income … which can further cause economic crisis” and a relative clause beginning “where pollution and contamination rate…”. The overall meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “positive impact” needs plural agreement after “certain,” and “over population” is not correctly formed as a grammatical noun phrase. In “pollution and contamination rate has,” the plural subject requires a plural verb; “people have started to prefer living” also needs a clearer construction in its surrounding sentence. Long sentences sometimes make relationships between clauses difficult to control. Build accuracy by checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and clause boundaries, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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