Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-03

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)

Many nations around the world face a growing issue of urban migration from the countryside, where rural populations decline while metropolises grow. While there are numerous circumstances leading to this trend, I believe it is a positive change because of the better opportunities and comfortable living standards cities provide.

One of the main reasons people migrate is to look for better opportunities that they can not get by staying in the rural area. There are better job prospects, better education, and an instant health care system in the cities. With this, people can explore their careers, their children can get better education and avail the best health care, which in turn helps the nation in the future. With all these facilities at your doorstep, people can compete and earn a living, ultimately helping society through revenue. For example, people in the countryside work on their farms and earn a living because there are no other sources of income. Their earnings are hand-to-mouth and do not contribute much to the revenues.

In addition, the metropolises attract people because of their sheer convenience, which contributes to comfortable living. With lots of amenities, like electricity, shopping centres, transport and entertainment, people prefer settling there. Ultimately making their life easier to commute, to shop and to enjoy. Whereas in rural areas, people struggle to even access basic services without proper transport and a poor electricity connection. These challenges make people move to urban areas.

To conclude, though the population might decrease in the rural areas as people start to move to urban areas, this is a positive shift as urban life is more convenient, accessible and comfortable to live in.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt clearly, taking a consistent position that urban migration is a positive development. The ideas are relevant, focusing on economic opportunities and improved living standards. However, the development is somewhat limited; while the points about job prospects and amenities are clear, they could be further extended with more specific examples or a deeper analysis of the societal impact. The argument regarding rural areas is a bit simplistic, focusing heavily on the lack of services without fully exploring the potential negative consequences of rural depopulation, which would have provided a more balanced and sophisticated discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'For example', and 'To conclude' are used effectively to link ideas. However, the use of referencing is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions between sentences could be smoother to enhance the flow. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the logical structure supports the reader's understanding of the argument throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate and appropriate for the task. The student uses topic-specific terms like 'urban migration', 'metropolises', 'amenities', and 'prospects'. While the range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning, it lacks the variety and precision of more advanced lexical choices. Some phrases, such as 'hand-to-mouth' and 'at your doorstep', are used correctly but are slightly informal for an academic essay. There are no significant spelling errors, and the vocabulary is used with enough flexibility to maintain a clear and coherent argument throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There is a good attempt at using complex sentences, such as 'While there are numerous circumstances leading to this trend, I believe it is a positive change...'. However, there are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'an instant health care system' (which is slightly unnatural) and 'their life easier to commute' (which should be 'making their lives easier'). Despite these occasional errors, the grammar does not impede communication, and the punctuation is generally accurate. The control over sentence structure is sufficient for a solid band 6.5.

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