Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-21

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 today's generation many improvements have done in city area which is developing more and more. now a days city area has more population than the countryside because city provides more employment, resources and resident to the peoples. rural public moving to cities is a major step they take as in rural area there is less employment. less houses and no work life balance. As these things lead people to move to cities.

I think this a positive development to the people's lives as they can live better in the city with more and easy facilities. which can lead to saving the time for any other thing.

In rural area peoples live in small spaces with limited food resources and less facilities.

whereas in cities people have easy access to the things they want and even in the emergency situation it is easier to reach hospital.

as a positive side, it is beneficial for the urban migrant and to the government as it will increases in the GDP of country.

as a negative side of moving, you don't get the quality of life because cities have more pollution, traffic, poor air, no clean water and less numbers of greeneries and many more whereas, in rural countryside area there is a fresh air everyday due to the thousands

of trees, less vehicles= less pollution followed by the industries and factories too.

as per my experience, even my grandparents moved to city for the future of my dad. which leads to financial stable in the family and a better educational for my father and gotten to fulfil their dreams as a man. so, it is better to move in cities as per the whole overview, but you have to make compromise in the quality of life.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both positive and negative aspects of rural-to-urban migration. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. While you mention economic benefits and personal experiences, the arguments are often presented as a list rather than being fully extended. The position is clear, but the structure lacks a formal introduction and conclusion, which limits the depth of the analysis. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a single, well-supported argument with clear examples that directly relate to the broader societal impact rather than just personal anecdotes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hampered by fragmented sentences and a lack of effective cohesive devices. Many sentences start abruptly, and the transition between the positive and negative aspects is mechanical. For instance, the use of 'as a positive side' and 'as a negative side' is repetitive and simplistic. To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'on the other hand') to connect your ideas more fluidly and improve the overall progression of your argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher score. There is frequent repetition of basic terms like 'city', 'area', 'people', and 'less'. Some word choices are awkward, such as 'resident to the peoples' and 'better educational for my father'. While you attempt to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'GDP' and 'urban migrant', the overall range is limited. Focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and collocations to express your ideas more naturally and accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, including issues with subject-verb agreement ('it will increases'), article usage ('the city', 'the countryside'), and sentence fragments ('which can lead to saving the time...'). There is a lack of complex sentence structures, and the punctuation is often inconsistent, which occasionally makes the text difficult to follow. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and proofreading for common errors like pluralization and verb tense consistency. Increasing your use of complex structures, such as conditional or relative clauses, will also help boost your score.

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

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