Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-30

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 recent years, numerous nations around the globe have been facing an increasing shift from rural to urban areas. Although moving to cities offers individuals better job opportunities and amenities, I believe that this is a overall negative trend because it severely strains urban resources and depletes the rural economy.

This trend has some negative impacts on urban life as cities experience rapid population growth as a result overcrowding occurs. In addition, it result in inflated housing costs leading to house shortages. Moreover, as many people travel in cities traffic congestion results which create more issues and severe strain on public. For instance when more population reside in a city their demand for other facilities also surged like healthcare, transport and waste management. Taking everything in to account it is clear that this trend create more issues for the people residing in cities.

On the other hand, it also has adverse ramifications on rural society as well. For instance when more people from rural areas move to cities young and working age population also move as a agricultural productivity declines leading to potential food shortages. In addition, it results in closure of schools so the educational society suffer due to this trend. Moving to cities foster gradual erosion of local cultural heritage.

Taking everything into account, In my opinion, despite the economic, job and educational benefits for rural migrants, this movement is largely negative as it damages countryside communities and over burdens city infrastructure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The essay addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the trend is negative. However, the response falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which limits the depth of the arguments. While the ideas regarding urban strain and rural decline are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped due to the brevity of the response. The conclusion is a bit repetitive, and the essay would benefit from more specific, illustrative examples to fully support the claims made. Because the length requirement was not met, the score is capped at a 5.0 for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The progression of ideas is generally easy to follow. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'In addition', 'Moreover', 'For instance'). Some transitions are slightly awkward, such as 'Taking everything in to account it is clear that this trend create more issues'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would elevate the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express their ideas clearly. There are attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary such as 'ramifications', 'infrastructure', and 'agricultural productivity'. However, there are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'educational society suffer' instead of 'educational systems suffer' and 'overcrowding occurs' used as a standalone clause. The range is sufficient for the task, but more precise and sophisticated vocabulary would be needed for a higher band score.

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 that occur throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('this trend create', 'demand... surged') and missing articles or prepositions ('strain on public', 'in a city'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. A greater focus on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is recommended.

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