Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-25

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 many countries, people are leaving country side areas and moving to cities, leading to a decline in the population of the country side. Although this trend to bring a economic and industrial growth, I believe that is largely negative development because it’s create problems for urban and rural communities.

On the other hand, migration to cities can improve people’s living standards. Urban areas provide better employment opportunities, higher salaries and modern medical facilities. They have a so many industrial company, and to chance get government and private job. For example, when people comes on the cities they brings a national economic growth and boost productivity. This can help our grow economic growth and company chance to get a skillful worker.

However, move to rural areas has several drew back. Firstly, village and small towns may suffer from labour shortages, particularly in agriculture, which is essential for food production. Another drew back is people may suffer for living cost, because it’s chance increase living cost. On ther hand, overcrowding, trafic congestion, pollution are common faced by many metropolitan areas.

In my opinion, moving to rural areas bring a economic growth but also people faced many problem. For example, in countries such as China and India they daily faced to probleming cities in search of work.

In conclusion, despite the economic advantages associated with urban migration I believe the decline in countryside populations is mainly a negative development because it cause imbalance in regional development and create serious social and environmental challenges.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the migration is a negative development. However, the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you mention economic growth and urban challenges, the arguments are often repetitive and lack depth. For instance, the point about 'labour shortages' in agriculture is a good start, but it is not fully explored. The conclusion is clear, but the body paragraphs contain some contradictory statements, such as mentioning that migration brings economic growth while simultaneously arguing it is a negative development without fully reconciling these points. To improve, ensure each paragraph focuses on a single, well-supported idea that directly reinforces your overall stance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices like 'However', 'Firstly', and 'In conclusion' to link ideas. However, the flow is sometimes hindered by mechanical transitions and repetitive phrasing. For example, the phrase 'On the other hand' is used incorrectly to introduce a point that supports the opposite side of your argument. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, making some sentences feel disjointed. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring they are used in the correct context will help your ideas progress more smoothly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your main points. You use some relevant topic-specific vocabulary such as 'industrial growth', 'labour shortages', and 'metropolitan areas'. However, there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'drew back' instead of 'drawbacks', 'traffic congestion' (spelled as 'trafic'), and 'probleming'. These errors occasionally make the text feel less professional. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise terminology and ensuring that words are used in their correct grammatical form and context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of your writing. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('people comes', 'it’s create'), incorrect verb forms ('they brings'), and missing articles. While the meaning is generally clear, these persistent errors indicate a lack of control over complex structures. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that verb tenses are used consistently throughout your paragraphs.

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

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