Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-29
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)
Nowadays, trend of urban migration is increasing around the world. Rural people move to the urban areas and as result, countryside left empty. Many reasons are there which leads to the urban migration. I believe that relocation of people is both kinds of development positive and at the same time negative as well.
On the positive side, migration towards the urban area leads to easy access of basic life requirements for the population. Such as hospital, school, transport etc. Different industry receive the human resource or workers for them while on the other hand people have different options available to do the job and earn higher salaries. Because most of the jobs are available in the urban area.
On the negative side, Urban area becomes more congested as migration towards the city increases day-by-day and population in the countryside decreasing. Inflation rise in the urban location for food and transportation because the demand increase more than supply. Law wages happen because the supply of workers is greater than the available jobs.
In my opinion, movement towards the city is the positive development until some extent. If this urban movement increase more than required, it leads to negative development for the people, city and country as whole. Rural areas face a shortage of food production because many people are moving to cities for better jobs and living conditions. Rapid migration leads to shortage of labour in rural area and surplus in urban area.
Urban migration brings economic growth up to a point, but overpopulation creates severe problems when cities exceed their capacity.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both positive and negative aspects of urban migration. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For instance, while you mention 'easy access to basic life requirements,' you do not elaborate on how this impacts the individual's quality of life. The conclusion attempts to provide a balanced view, but the argument lacks depth and specific examples to support the claims. To improve, ensure that each point is followed by a clear explanation or a concrete example to demonstrate the 'why' and 'how' behind your reasoning.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the topic. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'On the positive side' and 'On the negative side' to signal transitions. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes mechanical, and there is a lack of more sophisticated linking words. Some sentences feel disjointed, such as 'Different industry receive the human resource or workers for them while on the other hand people have different options.' Improving the use of referencing and varied transition signals would enhance the overall flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as 'urban area' and 'migration.' There are also some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'Law wages' (likely meaning 'low wages') and 'until some extent' (should be 'to some extent'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more topic-specific collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition and demonstrate a more flexible command of the language.
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 hinder readability. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'trend of urban migration'), subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'Different industry receive'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'Many reasons are there which leads to'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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