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)

Population in the rural areas is declining increasingly as people from countryside are shifting towards cities in many countries around the worls.

This development has positive aspects in the way that urban areas have better facilities than those in the village. They have better accomodation, jobs and healthcare benefits due to which its population is rising. More vacancies and opportunities are being taken by the people of lower background. Better income options are being availiable for rural people making their lives more easier as they can meet both ends meet now.

On the other hand, rural areas lack such facilities which force the labor to move to the big cities making the population in countryside to be decreased. This shifting has a negative impact as the over-growing population ratio in big cities is leading to the lack of facilities there. Growing competetion in various field of studies is also growing by this impact.

This impact is causing the decrease in population in villages leading the least opportunities and development in the areas. Lack of attention to this area is immensely high making old people suffer the most. Government will have less attention towars these ares as educated individuals being moved out. Low quality education and health facilities leading the most negative impact of the individual movement as well. These features are causing the negative development of this perspective.

Overall the positive aspects of the movement of people of rural area to urban cities have over-shadowed the negative aspects by providing healthy development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the question and give a clear overall judgement in the conclusion: you consider the movement positive because of improved urban facilities and opportunities. The response also recognises disadvantages, including pressure on city services and reduced attention to rural communities. However, the position is not consistently clear: the body gives substantial space to negative effects, while the conclusion says the positive effects outweigh them without explaining that comparison. Several points, such as competition in education and the difficulties faced by older people, are relevant but briefly asserted rather than supported with examples or explanation. Develop fewer ideas more fully and make the reasons for your final judgement explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, discussion of positive and negative effects, and a concluding opinion. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and signposts such as “On the other hand” and “Overall” guide the reader. However, progression within the body is sometimes unclear: the second paragraph moves from rural disadvantages to city overcrowding and then educational competition without showing the links between them. The repeated references to “this impact” and “this development” are also vague, so it is not always clear which effect is being discussed. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each supporting point directly to the paragraph’s main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “healthcare benefits,” “over-growing population,” “lack of facilities,” and “development,” which helps communicate the main ideas. However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “meet both ends meet” is not the standard expression, and “the least opportunities” does not clearly express the intended idea. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “worls,” “accomodation,” “availiable,” and “competetion.” Aim for precise, natural collocations and check spelling carefully; varying repeated words such as “impact,” “facilities,” and “development” would also strengthen the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “facilities which force the labor to move” and a reason clause beginning “as they can…”. The main message is generally understandable, but some sentence structures are faulty or awkward. For instance, “making the population in countryside to be decreased” uses an unnatural construction, while “Lack of attention to this area is immensely high making old people suffer the most” needs clearer clause structure and punctuation. There are also problems with articles and agreement, as in “in countryside” and “the positive aspects … have over-shadowed.” Work on building accurate clauses and checking articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries before adding more complex structures.

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