Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-07-31

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 6.5)

In most countries around the world, people living in the rural areas migrate to cities, making the population of the countryside isolated. Although, it can have several drawbacks, I consider it to be a favourable development.

To begin with, people who moved from rural areas to well developed cities can transform their lives by working in top multinational companies such as google, amazon and other organisations. Furthermore, individuals aiming for business opportunities can grow their business much faster when compared to under develop areas. Subsequently, hard work pays off for not only businessman's but also working professionals these people can fulfill their dreams in big cities. This can be seen in India especially, in metro cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, where better work life balance can be experienced.

Beyond this, everyone moving to cities can make the rural areas isolated with very few people, resources, and lacks development. If all rural society believe that moving to cities is a wise decision, then who will plan for the potential future of rural areas. In addition, the people who developed the cities are also humans, then why? rural people can't turn to be innovative. Ultimately, moving to cities is effortless and rural development is always overlooked by them, this is the reason why sometimes cities faces housing crisis.

In conclusion, I firmly believe people migrating to cities as a positive development. This can strengthen the living standards of people of rural areas. Although, there are few drawbacks, still it is a favourable development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that rural-to-urban migration is a positive development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The first body paragraph provides relevant points about career opportunities in cities. The second body paragraph is less focused; it attempts to discuss the negative impact on rural areas but becomes slightly disjointed, particularly in the rhetorical questions and the transition to the housing crisis. While the position is maintained, the argument could be more effectively structured to ensure that the 'positive' stance is consistently supported without losing clarity in the counter-argument section.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear introduction and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Beyond this' and the abrupt shift in the second body paragraph. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the sentence 'the people who developed the cities are also humans, then why? rural people can't turn to be innovative', which disrupts the flow of the argument. Overall, the progression of ideas is generally logical but could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'multinational companies', 'work life balance', and 'housing crisis'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'under develop areas' (should be 'underdeveloped') and 'businessman's' (should be 'businesspeople' or 'business owners'). The range is sufficient to convey meaning, but more precise and varied vocabulary would be needed to reach a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('cities faces'), punctuation (incorrect use of commas after 'Although'), and sentence fragments or awkward phrasing ('why? rural people can't turn to be innovative'). These errors are noticeable but do not typically impede communication. To improve, the student should focus on consistent verb tense usage and refining sentence structure to avoid awkward phrasing.

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