Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-12

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 recent decades, the modern technology has grown significantly and it created so many new jobs and new businesses in the cities. Urban population has been growing more rapidly because rural population is migrating into the cities for learning new skills and to get job or to establish any business. I believe that this is a positive development for every nation and it has more advantages for some reasons.

Initially, a city with more population can help to generate more jobs and opportunities for the job seekers which can reduce depression and anxiety and the crime rate will also decrease. The less population in countryside can be monitored efficiently. For example, in developed countries, cities have more population than their villages which is helping the governments to focus more on specific areas than on whole country which reduce many social issues and the jobs are also easy to find there because of more businesses.

Secondly, urbanization always helps to boost country's economy which can ultimately reduce inflation rate because a multi-culture city where people migrated from their villages brings their investments and new business plan along with them. For instance, in developed countries, their cities are the main hub of their economies because they promote their public for migration from the countryside to the cities and invest their money in city projects which generate opportunities for every sector.

In conclusion, I believe that benefits of urbanization overweigh its disadvantages. However, the over-population also create some challenges for police and other departments

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that urbanization is a positive development. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, the claim that rural-to-urban migration reduces 'depression and anxiety' is a significant assertion that lacks logical support or evidence. The arguments regarding economic growth are relevant but remain general. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, nuanced examples rather than broad generalizations about 'developed countries.' The conclusion is also incomplete, as it introduces a new point about police challenges without integrating it into the overall argument.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Initially,' 'Secondly,' and 'In conclusion' to signal the structure. However, the flow within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. For example, the transition between the benefits of urbanization and the mention of police challenges in the conclusion is abrupt and lacks a cohesive link to the rest of the essay. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'urbanization,' 'inflation rate,' and 'investments.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'promote their public for migration' and 'overweigh its disadvantages' (should be 'outweigh'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common academic vocabulary to demonstrate a wider range of lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the modern technology,' 'a multi-culture city') and subject-verb agreement ('the over-population also create'). Some sentences are slightly clunky, such as 'rural population is migrating into the cities for learning new skills and to get job.' To achieve a higher score, focus on consistent control over articles and ensure that complex sentences are constructed with greater grammatical precision.

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

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