Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-15

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)

All over the globe in a several nations people who lives in countryside area are shifting towards the urban area, as a result it declines the population in rural area. However, I think this a wrong  development because cities become over populated and  the prices of  the land are increases.

Although, In many countries people who move from village area to cities due to the facilities are more available in metropolitan cities. Moreover, cities become over crowded causes major problems like transportation, traffic on the roads and long waiting time for hospitals. For example, In the recent studies of the Hindustan times, Mumbai is one of the biggest and over crowded cities in the India. Furthermore, people come their for searching of employement and owing to that their roads are stuck for longer waiting hours due to traffic and hospitals become shortage of staff as a result of over population.

Furthermore, When people move to the urban area where is always a shortage of houses. Subsequently there is limited area for land, as a result it become more expensive. Nonetheless, individuals need to pay hefty amount of money for small houses as compare to rural area. For instance, In the university of New York  reports that people who live in the New York city, they needs to pay more then fifty percent of their net income as a rent.

In conclusion, In numerious nantions all over the world, where rural area residents move to urban area  for this reason population of villages decreases, However, this is a negative development because cities become over crowded and land rates are drasticly highes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the migration is a negative development. The ideas regarding overpopulation, infrastructure strain, and housing costs are relevant. However, the development is somewhat limited; the arguments are repetitive, and the supporting examples, such as the reference to the 'University of New York reports,' are vague and lack depth. While the position is consistent throughout, the essay would benefit from more nuanced exploration of the causes or potential solutions to fully meet the requirements of a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear central topic. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover,' 'Furthermore,' and 'In conclusion,' though some are used mechanically or incorrectly (e.g., 'Although, In many countries...'). The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the referencing is sometimes awkward, such as the transition between the mention of Mumbai and the subsequent discussion of employment. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'drasticly highes' instead of 'drastically higher' and 'searching of employement' instead of 'seeking employment.' The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but the student struggles with collocations and word forms, which occasionally forces the reader to re-read to grasp the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('people who lives,' 'prices of the land are increases') and incorrect prepositional usage ('come their for searching'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma placement. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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.