Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

Nowadays, a geowing number of people are moving from rural areas to cities in search of better opportunities. As a result, the population of countryside is decreasing. In my opinion, this is negative development because it creates several problems for both rural and urban communities.

There are several reasons why people prefer living in cities. Firstly, urban areas offer better educational and employment opportunities. Peope can find well-paid jobs and receive a higher standard of education. Secondly cities generally provide better healthcare facilities, transportation and other essential services. For example, many students from small villages move to major cities to attend universities and build successful careers. The migration can help individuals to gain indpendance, develop practical skills.

However, this trend has some serious disadvantages. One major problem is that cities become well crowded because of over population. This can lead to traffic congesion, air pollution, unemployment and shortage of affordable housing. Furthermore, rural areas suffer because fewer people remain to work in agriculture and other local industries. This can negatively affect food production and the development of villages to cities such as Lahore and karachi in search of better employment.

In conclusion, although moving to cities provide people with better educational employment and healthcare opportunities, I beleive that this is negative development overall. It increases pressure on urban facilities and create difficulty for rural communities. Therefore, government should improve basic facilities and employment opportunities in villages to encourage people to stay in their hometowns.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and you address both the attractions of cities and the disadvantages for urban and rural communities. Relevant points include pressure on housing and transport, and fewer workers in agriculture. However, the supporting ideas are not developed evenly: the benefits of city life receive examples, while the effects on rural communities are asserted rather than explained in detail. The sentence about migration to Lahore and Karachi is also unclear and does not clearly support the point about local industries. The response is six words below the required minimum, so it does not meet the task’s length requirement. Develop the consequences with a specific example and explain the links between causes and effects.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction states your view, the body paragraphs present reasons and disadvantages, and the conclusion restates your position and offers a recommendation. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “However,” and “Furthermore” help readers follow the argument. Some connections are less clear, though. In particular, the final sentence of the disadvantages paragraph combines the impact on rural industries with migration to Lahore and Karachi, making the relationship between these ideas difficult to follow. The conclusion also repeats points from the introduction rather than bringing the argument together with a developed final insight. Use clearer links between each claim and its example, and ensure each paragraph has one main focus.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “employment opportunities,” “healthcare facilities,” “traffic congestion,” “air pollution,” and “affordable housing.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and phrases such as “standard of education” suit the topic. However, spelling errors such as “geowing,” “Peope,” “indpendance,” “congesion,” and “beleive” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural, including “well crowded,” “over population,” and “development of villages to cities.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, and choose wording that expresses the intended relationship precisely. This would make your vocabulary more controlled and effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple statements and some longer structures, including “although moving to cities provide people with…” and “because it creates several problems…,” so there is an attempt to vary sentence forms. Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. For example, “this is negative development” needs an article, and “moving to cities provide people” has a subject–verb agreement error. In the final sentence, “government should improve” and “it increases … and create” also show article and agreement problems. The sentence about students moving to cities contains a fragment after “careers.” Check articles, agreement, and whether each sentence has a complete clause. More accurate control of these patterns would strengthen the response.

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