Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-19

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 most part of world population begin to move from rural areas to cities due to this the number of residents are decreasing in the countryside. It would bring benefits but also some drawbacks.

First, it will bring empty land for agriculture in the countryside and the people from rural areas would enjoy many facilities like health facility, educational facility as well as job facility. For example when no body lives in the countryside so a lot of land will be free . So this land can be use for many purposes like they can grow food crops, fruits and vegetables on a large scale so citizens can get all this food stuff in low price and they can also sell into other countries. In this way the countries economy will become strong. In contrast, the population living in rural areas get less benefits then those who lived in cities. If they moved toward cities there children will get higher education there . They can get better health facilities there due to big hospitals and well educated doctors . They will also get job opportunity and will live a good lifestyle there.

On other hand it also have some drawbacks. If all the population will move in cities so they cities will become over populated.

In conclusion , the movement of rural people to city areas will provide them a lot of benefits so in my opinion it will be a positive development. They should try to move out from villages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of rural-to-urban migration. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. While you mention agricultural benefits and access to services, the explanation remains superficial. For instance, the claim that empty land will automatically lead to a stronger economy is not fully supported with logical reasoning. The conclusion is clear, but the overall argument lacks depth and nuance. To improve, ensure that each point is supported by a clear explanation and a more specific example, rather than just listing potential benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'they' and 'there'. Some transitions, like 'In contrast' and 'On other hand', are used, but the logical flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. The referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to track who 'they' refers to in certain sentences. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clear pronoun references would significantly enhance the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'big', and 'many', which limits the sophistication of your argument. There are also some issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'food stuff' instead of 'food supplies' or 'agricultural produce'. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to urbanization, socio-economic development, and infrastructure, and focus on using more precise adjectives and nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the number of residents are decreasing'), article usage (e.g., 'in most part of world'), and punctuation errors, particularly with missing spaces after commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader. You should focus on proofreading for basic errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency to improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

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