Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-14

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)

In many developing countries around the globe people living in rural areas are migrating towards cities.In my point of view this is a negative development.

As so many different facilities in cities are provided to the people so the people living at countryside start migrating towards cities to gain access to these facilities. In my opinion, this is a negative development as thats make cities over-crowding and a competition will be started among people for the oppurtunities and as well as for the facilities. This may also led to the increase in pollution other problems.For example, When the population of a city increases from the carrying capacity of the city it became difficult for the city to facilitate the people. To accomodate such a large number of population, new housing societies developed and for this development the authorities need the land. Therefore, to meet there need they cut the trees that cause deforestation and a disturbance in natural balance.

Similarly, a decrease in countryside population occur which is not good interms of the facilities. As people living at countryside are mostly farmers and they grow the essential crops. There migration cause a decrease in food supply and people all over the country start facing the food crisis.

The skills you know become the key to your survival. So a farmer must work as a farmer and a technologist must work with different techniques and technologies. People should not over-crowd a place to get the facilities instead they should try to bring these facilities to there living side.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and you give relevant reasons, including pressure on city services, pollution and deforestation, and reduced food production. The example about cities exceeding their capacity helps explain the environmental consequences. However, some points are asserted more than developed: the claim that migration creates competition for opportunities is not explained, and the link between fewer rural residents and a national food crisis needs more support. The final comments about people’s skills and bringing facilities to rural areas introduce useful ideas, but their connection to your main argument could be made clearer. Develop each reason with a fuller explanation or a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it states a view, develops disadvantages of urban growth, adds a point about farming, and ends with a recommendation. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “Therefore,” and “Similarly” help show relationships between ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly where the discussion moves from overcrowding to housing, tree-cutting, and natural balance in one long sequence. Some connections are also unclear, such as the shift to “The skills you know become the key to your survival.” Use clearer topic sentences and divide the city-related and countryside-related effects into focused paragraphs. Make references and transitions more precise so the reader can follow how each point supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “facilities,” “carrying capacity,” “food supply,” “deforestation,” and “natural balance.” These choices allow you to discuss both urban pressures and rural production. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear: “a competition will be started,” “facilitate the people,” and “living side” are examples. Spelling errors such as “oppurtunities,” “accomodate,” and “there” for “their” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural combinations and check spelling carefully. More precise terms for the effects of migration would help you express your ideas clearly without relying on broad phrases such as “other problems.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “as,” “therefore,” and “when.” This gives you a basis for expressing relationships between ideas. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. For example, “this may also led” should use the base verb after “may,” while “a decrease … occur” needs a matching verb form. The opening also runs two sentences together after “cities,” and some long sentences contain several clauses that are difficult to control. Practise checking subject–verb agreement and modal verb patterns, and use full stops to separate complete ideas. More accurate control of these patterns would make your argument easier to read.

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