Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-03

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 6.0)

The rural population is migrating to urban areas in numerous countries around the world which leads to depopulation in the countryside. In my opinion, this trend is largely negative which results in urban overcrowding and rural population decline.

The primary concern is the pressure placed on the urban infrastructure. Overpopulated cities leads to numerous issues including heavy traffic, noise pollution, high competition in the job market and high acccomodation costs which leaves low-income families unable to afford basic accommodation and forces them into substandard living conditions. For instance, heavy traffic pollutes city air, which results in health issues like respiratory disorders such as severe asthma and chronic respiratory infections among young children.When vehicle exhaust accumulates in densely populated streets, air quality drops drastically, leaving residents exposed to harmful toxins over long periods.

It is true that moving to cities grants individuals better access to universities and specialized medical treatment. however, the overall damage to rural economies outweighs these benefits. People leaving non-urban areas also causes several major drawbacks. There would be a negative impact on the agriculture sector due to the shortage of rural workers migrating to the urban areas. This also leads to lower crop yields, food shortages, and increased reliance on expensive imported produce. Moreover, a population decline in rural villages will leave these areas completely desolate.

In my perspective, although living in cities offers a better standard of living and provide better opportunities,the people moving from villages to cities will be the main cause of destabilizing rural economy and shortage of resources in cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have clearly addressed the prompt by taking a stance that the trend is negative. You provide relevant arguments regarding urban infrastructure pressure and the decline of rural economies. The ideas are generally well-developed, though the conclusion could have been more robust by synthesising the main points rather than repeating them. You successfully balanced the discussion by acknowledging the benefits of urban migration before refuting them with the negative consequences, which demonstrates a good understanding of the task requirements. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are consistently linked back to the core argument to avoid any slight digressions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You use cohesive devices such as 'The primary concern', 'For instance', and 'Moreover' to guide the reader through your arguments. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and the paragraphing could be improved; for example, the final paragraph is quite short and feels somewhat disconnected from the preceding analysis. Referencing is generally clear, but ensure that pronouns and linking phrases are used with more variety to improve the flow between sentences and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'depopulation', 'infrastructure', 'substandard', and 'destabilizing'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'high competition in the job market' (which is acceptable but could be more precise) and 'acccomodation' (spelling error). You attempt to use less common vocabulary, which is good, but the overall range is somewhat limited. To improve, focus on using more sophisticated collocations and ensuring precise word choice to convey your ideas with greater nuance and academic tone.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Overpopulated cities leads to', 'living in cities... provide better opportunities') and punctuation errors (missing capitalisation after a period, missing spaces after commas). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic agreement and punctuation to ensure your writing is more polished and accurate.

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

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