Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-11

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 6.0)

I agree with the statement that rural people are moving to urban areas, which leads to the decrease in population in the countryside. I personally that it is a negative development. It plays a negative major impact on country's economy.

Most of the population is moving towards cities due to lack of development in the rural area. Government majorly focus on the development of cities rather than the development of countryside. Major industrilisation takes place in the urban areas compared to the rural areas, this is due to the availability of skilled employees and resources. People are moving and settling in the cities primarily due to the availability of various facilities which includes, transportation, resources, better employment, exposure, safety.

This causes people moving to cities due to which the cost of living like rentals, groceries, colleges in the cities increases significantly. This leads the government to majorly focus on the cities and the urban areas are neglected. There will be a positive development in the cities whereas the countryside remains undeveloped. The pros includes development of cities, generation of taxes for the country. On the other hand, cons includes lack of development in the country side, overpopulation in the cities, excess cost of living. Example based on my knowledge is in India a city called Hyderabad is vastly developed with IT companies which resulted in the overpopulation in that city and increased cost of living. Hence the government focused on the development of the city and other places remained under developed.

In conclusion, there will be a negative impact on development of the country hence government must also focus on development of rural areas.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that rural-to-urban migration is a negative development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. While you mention economic impacts and infrastructure, the arguments are not fully extended. For instance, the discussion on the 'pros' and 'cons' in the third paragraph feels like a list rather than a cohesive argument. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on one clear point, providing more detailed explanations and specific consequences rather than simply listing factors like 'safety' or 'exposure' without elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical. You rely on basic transitions like 'In conclusion' and 'On the other hand,' but the internal logic within paragraphs is sometimes disjointed. For example, the transition from discussing government focus to the cost of living in the third paragraph is abrupt. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices (e.g., 'consequently,' 'furthermore,' 'in light of this') would help improve the logical progression of your arguments. Paragraphing is present, but the structure of the body paragraphs could be more balanced.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band. You use some relevant terms like 'industrialisation' and 'overpopulation,' but there is also a tendency to repeat words like 'development' and 'cities' frequently. Some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'It plays a negative major impact,' which should be 'It has a major negative impact.' To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition and demonstrate a broader range of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader, such as 'I personally that it is' (missing verb) and 'Government majorly focus' (subject-verb agreement). Additionally, punctuation is sometimes inconsistent, particularly with comma usage in lists. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately.

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

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