Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-26

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 the modern era, villagers are evacuating and moving to larger cities worldwide, so the population in countryside is decreasing. I strongly believe that this is a negative development. Most of the villages are the food factories of their countries and majority of the population are farmers. This development might arise food crisis all over the world. In this essay, I will explain the reasons why this is a negative development.

Majority of the population in villages are farmers. Most of the production of food that we consume were produced by rural people and sold to the urban areas. Their relocation might arise food crisis and increase of the prices on basic needs like fruits and vegetables that might become a serious problem for economically poor households. For example, villages contribute over 80% of food production all over India.

In addition, villages are considered as the cultural heritage of the country. They represent the traditional attires and cultural practices of the country. This development might escalate cultural changes. Moreover, future generations might not be able to know about the history of the country. For example, rural people stopped making traditional clay pots that used to represent the country's heritage.

In conclusion, Relocation of rural people might arise food scarcity and might become hard for poor people to afford basic food. Moreover, the cultural changes takes place and future generations will not be able to know about the traditional heritages of that country. From my perspective, I firmly believe that this is a negative development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that rural-to-urban migration is a negative development. The ideas regarding food security and cultural heritage are relevant and logically linked to the prompt. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the point about food production is supported by a statistic, but the argument could be strengthened by discussing the broader economic or social impacts of urban overcrowding. The essay covers all parts of the task, but the depth of analysis remains at a surface level, which is characteristic of a band 6.0 response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a central theme. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there is a tendency to repeat similar sentence structures at the start of paragraphs. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of cohesive links to connect ideas more fluidly rather than relying on simple additive connectors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'arise food crisis' (should be 'cause' or 'lead to') and 'traditional attires' (attire is usually uncountable). The use of 'food factories' is an interesting metaphor, but overall, the lexical range is somewhat restricted. To improve, you should focus on using more sophisticated synonyms and ensuring that word choices are contextually appropriate and grammatically accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('cultural changes takes place') and incorrect verb forms ('were produced' when referring to general facts). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of these minor errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring accuracy in tense and agreement would significantly improve the score.

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

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