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)
The advancement in science and technology is leading to development of humans and their surrounding as well which leads to urbanisation. Urbanisation at a place has its own positive and negative effects. In many countries around the world, rural people are migrating to cities, so the population in the countryside is decreasing day by day. This change occurs due to urbanisation in cities. There are numerous positive reasons behind moving of people to cities like better facilities, higher wages of jobs, more opportunities, better education, presence of good technology and better lifestyle, etc.
The benefits of living in the city fascinates more and more people to leave the countryside and shift towards city.
But this causes many problems in both countryside and cities as the population of city areas is increasing rapidly and at the same time, number of people living in villages are declining. This leads to imbalance in the living and causes over populated cities and deserted countryside. The population should be equally divided everywhere to maintain proper distribution of humans and resources.
For example, if we consider countryside the migration of people from rural to urban area leads to decrease in the population on humans. Now the people have access to large amount of natural resources but causes need to more people to works in the area like farmers.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, which significantly impacts the development of ideas. While you identify both positive and negative aspects of urbanisation, the arguments are underdeveloped and lack sufficient depth or specific examples. The conclusion is abrupt and does not clearly state your final position on whether this is a positive or negative development. To improve, you must expand your points with more detailed explanations and ensure you reach the required length to fully explore the prompt's implications.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The transition between the benefits of urbanisation and the resulting problems is somewhat abrupt. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'For example' and 'But', they are often used in a mechanical way. The referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the connection between the example and the main argument is difficult to follow. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would enhance the flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'better facilities', 'better education', and 'better lifestyle' show a limited range. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'advancement in science and technology is leading to development of humans' and 'imbalance in the living'. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to use more precise, academic vocabulary and avoid repeating the same adjectives. Using synonyms and more sophisticated word choices will help convey your ideas with greater clarity and impact.
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 clarity. Examples include 'the migration of people... leads to decrease in the population on humans' and 'causes need to more people to works'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrases. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would be a beneficial next step.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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