Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-14

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)

Nowadays, majority of the rural people are moving to cities or in urban area and the population of the countryside is decreasing. I think it is a positive development.

In this era, each human wants to develop their life style and wants to live a satisfied life and the only option for the majority of the population is to find better opportunity and it would get only by moving to cities or urban area from rural area in order to support their satisfied life. For example industrialist due to lack of source in rural area are giving higher priority to open a industry in urban area as each source is available their and it forces the people of rural area to migrate.

Urbanization in cities is increasing with time which has create many opportunity for the people and which also attract vast majority of population towards the cities as our country has a large amount of population and many people in the rural area are unable to get opportunity in rural area due to lack of source, technology and urbanization.

Each human has its family and it's dream with that family, so in order to achieve that dream they migrate to urban area as here employment does not depends on other factors but in rural area activities like agriculture, hunting depends on other factor like climate, weather and availability of animals for hunting. In urban area, if any labour is working in an industry so he can surely get his paid everyday without depending on any external factors.

To conclude, I would like to say that the migration from rural area to urban area benefits that particular individual and the county.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

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 limited. While you mention economic opportunities and industrialization, the arguments are repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the explanation of why urban life is better relies on vague terms like 'lack of source' rather than specific economic or social concepts. To reach a higher band, you need to provide more nuanced examples and explore the potential downsides or broader implications of this trend to show a more balanced or thorough understanding of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often mechanical. You use basic transitions like 'In this era' and 'To conclude', but the internal logic within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, the transition from discussing industrialization to the personal dreams of families feels abrupt. Additionally, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the use of 'it' and 'that' without a precise antecedent. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each sentence logically follows the previous one will enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for higher bands. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'lack of source' and 'urban area', which limits the sophistication of your writing. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'industrialist... are giving higher priority to open a industry' and 'employment does not depends on'. To improve, focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition and to express your ideas with greater clarity and style.

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. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('employment does not depends'), article usage ('a industry'), and awkward phrasing ('which has create many opportunity'). While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors in basic grammar and punctuation prevent the writing from reaching a higher level of accuracy. You should focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and ensuring that plural/singular forms are used correctly throughout your sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.