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)

Nowadays, metropolitan cities have been growing so fast which has led to a rise in population in urban areas.For example, if we compare people living in a city now versus 10 years back ,the number has increased gradually in terms of urbanization and development.This is because people don't want to live in countryside anymore.Thus, they are moving to cities in search for better job or lifestyle.

Well, it is a negative development according to me as due to population rise and less space in cities, the forest areas are being turned into tall concrete jungles.The water needs and resource use (like coal, petrol and electricity) has increased. Unfortunately, cities don't have this much capacity and ability to provide to all the residents thus, natural resources are being exploited.

It is studied from various yearly reports that most of the people who are shifting are the youths that is from early 20s to early 30s in search of lavish life as there is a common belief that urban offers more.And in the countryside what's majorly left off are the elderly, young children and females.This has also led to decline in farming.Very few practice it and others have changed their occupation.This too poses a major problem as there will be a shortage of food supply in cities.

Thus,it is a negative development from an overall environmental outlook but from a perspective of a person, they want to provide best to their family.Although even villages are now being providing facilities like introduction of electricity ,availability of water, free education, henceforth government is trying its best to improve and equalize it with urban areas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by identifying the migration from rural to urban areas as a negative development. You provide relevant reasons, such as environmental degradation and the decline of agriculture. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the mention of 'forest areas being turned into tall concrete jungles' is a good point, but it could be expanded with more specific consequences. The conclusion attempts to balance the argument by acknowledging the individual's perspective, but this is slightly underdeveloped. To reach a higher band, ensure that each main point is supported by a clear explanation or a more detailed example.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Thus', 'For example', and 'Although', to link your ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by mechanical phrasing or slightly awkward transitions, such as 'Well, it is a negative development according to me'. Additionally, some sentences are joined in a way that feels a bit repetitive. To improve, try to vary your linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences is smoother, avoiding overly informal conversational markers at the start of paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'metropolitan', 'urbanization', 'exploited', and 'occupation'. There are some instances of slightly unnatural collocations, such as 'provide to all the residents' (should be 'provide for') and 'shifting' (where 'migrating' or 'relocating' would be more precise). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and sophistication required for higher bands. Focus on learning topic-specific collocations and using more academic synonyms to enhance the quality of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the urban offers more' (should be 'urban areas offer more') and 'villages are now being providing' (should be 'are now providing'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods in several places. These errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent punctuation to improve your accuracy.

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.