Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-22

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)

Rural people are now shifting to urban areas in many nations which is leading to the reduction of population in the countryside. In my opinion, this is a positive development. People tends to migrate from rural areas to cities because they want their children's to get high quality education as well as they are seeking better job opportunities which they can not get while living in rural areas.

There are many standard schools and colleges available in urban areas. Children's who get their education from rural areas are unable to compete with those children's who studies in cities schools because there is a substantial difference between teaching methods and available resources. Cities schools provide high standard education as well an environment which implement greater influence on school learners. Cities school also provide different kind of physical activities to children's which nourishes them. For example, the mindset and IQ level of a city school student is very much higher than a student of rural area school.

The job opportunities which are available in cities are enormous. People migrates form rural areas to urban areas because they want to increase their income by getting a good job. Those people who lives in villages are mostly affected by low income and thus they cannot provide the basic needs of life to their children's properly. For instance, different people become very successful in life when they shift to urban areas where they get better job opportunities.

In conclusion, the migration of individuals form rural to urban areas is positive development because this migration plays important rule in the upbringing and nourishment of their children's as well as in the improvement of their financial condition.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that rural-to-urban migration is a positive development. The main ideas—access to education and job opportunities—are relevant and clearly linked to the topic. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat repetitive and relies on generalizations, such as the claim that city students have higher IQs than rural students, which lacks nuance. To reach a higher band, you should provide more balanced, evidence-based arguments and avoid sweeping statements that may weaken the logical flow of your position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with each focusing on a distinct reason for the migration. There is a clear introduction and conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive. For instance, the phrase 'Children's who' is used repeatedly, and transitions between sentences could be more varied to improve the flow. While the progression of ideas is generally easy to follow, the lack of sophisticated linking words makes the writing feel a bit disjointed at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You frequently use basic terms like 'good job' or 'different kind of'. There are also persistent errors in word form and pluralization, such as 'children's' (used as a plural noun) and 'people migrates'. These errors are noticeable and detract from the overall quality. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensure you are using the correct plural forms of nouns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'People tends', 'People migrates', 'those children's who studies') and incorrect pluralization. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that plural nouns do not have unnecessary apostrophes.

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.