Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-10

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)

Migration plays a vital role is every countries , and to upgrade the way of living and fulfilling needs of every person in the family is more crucial for the responsible one and there's where people living in rural area decide to move to countryside in order to earn more. Its a debateable topic and this essay contains the perspective of issue.

Population from the rural areas do not have the opportunities and ideas about how they can improve their standard of living and that situation forces them to migrate from villages to cities in the search of livelihood and stable income, mostly the responsible one moves to metro cities in the search of money and good lifestyle for upcoming generation, thus leaving the older one left no choice to continue with their culture. This is a positive development for the people taking the decision of shifting.

Nevertheless, this increases the competition and population in the cities because the crowd increases in the city, In recent generation students and employee's are preferring to rent a place in the cities instead of travelling for 30-40 kms, As a result, there's rush and increase in demand of public transportation and likewise with the resources that government provide, there are many facilities which the government provides, however due to lot of chaos and rush people end up ruining the facility.

In conclusion, i believe that government should provide opportunities, resources and enough pavement in the rural areas so that the people living in the villages do not face the necessity to migrate to cities. in the end the stability at both the locations are maintained.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the reasons for migration and its effects. However, the position is somewhat inconsistent. While you state it is a 'positive development' for the migrants, you then highlight significant negative consequences for cities and suggest government intervention to stop the trend. This lack of a clear, sustained position throughout the essay limits the development of your argument. Furthermore, some ideas, such as the mention of 'pavement' in rural areas, are not fully explained or relevant to the core issue of rural-to-urban migration. To improve, ensure your thesis is clearly stated in the introduction and consistently supported in every paragraph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is often interrupted by awkward phrasing and unclear transitions. For example, the transition 'In recent generation' is grammatically incorrect and disrupts the flow. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Nevertheless' and 'As a result', their usage is sometimes mechanical or imprecise. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the older one left no choice', which makes it difficult to follow the intended meaning. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each sentence clearly connects to the previous one will significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of imprecise word choice, such as using 'pavement' to refer to infrastructure or 'responsible one' to refer to breadwinners. Additionally, there are some errors in word formation, such as 'debateable' (debatable) and 'employee's' (employees). To reach a higher band, focus on using more academic collocations and precise terminology related to urbanization and socio-economic development. Avoid repetitive phrasing and try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary to express your ideas more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('Migration plays a vital role is every countries'), incorrect article usage, and punctuation errors, such as comma splices ('...in the city, In recent generation...'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of articles and prepositions. Proofreading for common punctuation errors would also be highly beneficial.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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