Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-27

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 argue that villagers moving towards urban cities in many region around the world this step responsible for decreasing population in the countryside. In my opinion, due to this development the rural areas badly effected which create a huge crises in food production.

To begin, people moving toward urban areas effect over agriculture system mostly countries produces their own crops for managing the food problems and 80 percent of crops production is in countryside areas. The people of rural areas depend on agriculture but due to lack of facilities and policies of government against farmer villagers move toward cities for business opportunities and for better facilities for their children. For instance, In Pakistan mostly rural people sale their farms to housing societies and move to cities because the government do not focus on improvement in agriculture the investment on crop is very high and the profit is very small after long term struggle.

Moreover, due to decreasing in population of rural areas the housing schemes and factories used the agriculture land for business which effect the environment and polluted the green areas. This development increase the disease among people of many countries. For example, In Punjab the temperature of whether increase every year because the mostly green lands are replace with housing societies and factories which effect over environment and this step play a vital role in increasing diseases.

To conclude, due to migration of rural people to cities the food problem increase in many countries because mostly countries grow their own crops for managing food crisis. This development also effect the nature and whether mostly rural people sale their lands to factories which create pollution in societies which is responsible for many diseases.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by identifying the migration as a negative development, focusing on food security and environmental degradation. However, the development of ideas is somewhat repetitive, and the argument lacks depth. While the position is clear, the supporting points—such as the link between rural-to-urban migration and specific diseases—are not fully explained or logically connected to the core issue. The essay covers the main requirements of the task, but the analysis remains superficial, often relying on generalizations rather than nuanced exploration of the socio-economic factors involved.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is a basic logical progression. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'To begin' is followed by a sentence that lacks a clear link to the previous paragraph. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed. While the paragraphing is present, the internal structure of the paragraphs could be improved to ensure that ideas are linked more fluidly rather than simply listed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'effect over agriculture system' (affect) and 'temperature of whether' (weather). The student relies on a limited set of words and phrases, often repeating them throughout the text. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and the presence of errors in basic word forms prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a high frequency of grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. There are persistent issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'government do not focus'), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'villagers move' vs 'villagers moving'), and sentence structure. Complex sentence attempts are often faulty, leading to run-on sentences or fragments. While the writer attempts to use a variety of structures, the lack of control over basic grammar significantly impacts the overall quality of the writing.

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

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