Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-24

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)

It is often argued that the rural people are moving to cities has become a major issue in modern society, and people have different opinion about it. In my opinions, I believe this is a positive development because it has more positive effects on society.

To begin with, one of the main reasons behind this is that better job opportunities, which plays significant role in this situation. This means that cities have more jobs in companies, factories and services. For example, in India, many young people from village moves to cities such as Ahmedabad and Mumbai to work in factories, offices and the service sector. Therefore, it is clear that this factor strongly supports the given opinion and provides a solid basis for this argument.

Another important point to consider is that better education and healthcare facilities , which also contributes to this issue in a meaningful way . In other words, cities generally have more collages, universities and well equipped hospitals. For instance, a student from a village many move to Ahmedabad to attend a good university, while family members can also receive treatment from specialized hospitals. As a result, it becomes evident that this trend is beneficial has a lasting impact on the community.

In conclusion, although some people believe that it is negative development, I strongly believe that because it is more practical and realistic. Overall, I believe that the movement of rural people to cities

is a positive development because it provides better employment opportunities and access to educatio0n and healthcare.

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—employment opportunities and access to services—are relevant and supported by examples from India. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat superficial. The arguments are repetitive, and the conclusion does not add any new insight or nuance to the discussion. To reach a higher band, you should aim to explore the implications of these changes more deeply, perhaps by briefly acknowledging the counter-argument or discussing the long-term societal impact in more detail.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, and there is a logical progression of ideas. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Another important point', and 'In conclusion' to guide the reader. However, the cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as the repetitive use of 'This means that' and 'In other words'. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure could benefit from more sophisticated linking words to connect sentences and ideas more fluidly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on common terms like 'major issue', 'good', and 'positive effects'. While you attempt some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'service sector' and 'specialized hospitals', there are errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'collages' instead of 'colleges' and 'educatio0n'. To improve, you should focus on using more precise collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition and demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. For example, 'the rural people are moving to cities has become' is syntactically incorrect, and there are issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'many young people from village moves'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. You should focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and sentence construction.

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