Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-16
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)
Nowadays, people from different nations around the world are moving to urban areas from countryside. I believe that migration to urban areas provides socio-economic and various positive facilities, while depopulation in rural areas can put pressure on urban cities.
On the one hand, migration of people from rural areas to the metropolitan cities has huge impact on people's lives. As they easily get access to other amenities & good transport, healthcare. Due to this the standard of living of many individuals improve steadily as they are being a part of modern society with profound impact, which leads to further access & in numerous career options, that initiates to future security
and sustain quality of life for theirselves and facilities. consequently that is much more beneficial for future growth with ease in living.
On the other hand, depopulation in rural areas has detrimental impact on nation economy and and geographical index. Because of this some of the major sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing is practised in rural areas, which contains a large proportion of labour force there. That provides us source of food to all over the nation itself with some other products that is crucial to sustain a balance life between people of the nation. Furthermore moving of large number of individuals to urban areas are
putting pressure on the current stage of urban areas and affecting its infrastructure. Because of that a concern of overpopulation can rise which may cause difficulty to manage the sources and areas where many people live for the government and individuals itself.
To conclude, I believe that unwanted migration of people from countryside areas can readily affect the overall life and functionality of nation more which leads to negative development of the society.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of rural-to-urban migration. However, the position is somewhat contradictory; the introduction suggests the trend provides 'positive facilities,' but the conclusion labels it a 'negative development.' This inconsistency makes the overall argument unclear. While the main ideas—such as improved living standards in cities and the loss of agricultural labor in rural areas—are relevant, they are not fully developed. The explanation of how urban infrastructure is affected is somewhat vague, and the essay lacks specific examples to illustrate these points, which prevents it from reaching a higher band score.
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 conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On the one hand,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Furthermore,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'consequently that is much more beneficial.' Additionally, there are instances where referencing is unclear, and the flow between sentences within paragraphs is occasionally disrupted by grammatical errors, which makes the cohesion feel somewhat forced rather than natural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express basic ideas. However, there is a lack of precision and variety. Phrases like 'good transport' and 'many individuals' are quite simple. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'geographical index' (which is misused here) and 'sustain a balance life.' The repetition of words like 'areas' and 'urban' suggests a limited range. To improve, the writer should focus on using more sophisticated collocations and topic-specific vocabulary related to urbanization and economic development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'some of the major sectors... is practised') and article usage (e.g., 'nation economy'). Punctuation is also problematic, with several run-on sentences and unnecessary line breaks that disrupt the flow. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors—particularly with pluralization and verb forms—prevents the writing from achieving a higher score. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical rules would be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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