Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
In this contemporary society, there is a growing trend of rural people who live in the countryside moving to cities causing the population in the countryside to dropping. While living inside the city offer advantages and disadvantages for different people. I believe this is neither a positive nor negative development as every person have the right to choose where they want to live according to their own occupations, cultural background, or other reasons.
On one hand, moving to the city provide multiple benefits compare to countryside.. Cities act as a major economic hubs as it have more companies, industries and career growth options that rural places can't offer. This density of businesses creates large job market with higher salary potential. For instance, tech hubs like San Francisco, New York and London where the they have cluster of tech startups or global corporations. Peoples can job hopping in there without having to pack up their home as the companies often are very close to each others. In addition, bigger cities has better infrastructure and healthcare system. These facilities provide specialized, advanced and better treatments that countryside often lack.
On the other hand, living inside the cities also come with several disadvantages. While metropolitan provide better infrastructure and more jobs opportunities, higher living cost is the biggest problem that come with it. Urban housing market are often more expensive and demand premium for very little space. Rent or mortgage consume large amount of income
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of rural-to-urban migration. However, the essay is incomplete, ending abruptly mid-sentence, which prevents a full development of the argument and a clear conclusion. Furthermore, the word count is 242 words, failing to meet the 250-word minimum requirement. While the position is stated in the introduction, the lack of a conclusion and the unfinished nature of the final paragraph mean that the task is only partially addressed. To improve, ensure you complete your arguments and provide a summary or final thought to round off your position.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay uses basic paragraphing and some cohesive devices such as 'On one hand' and 'In addition' to organize ideas. However, the progression is interrupted by the incomplete final paragraph. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'where the they have cluster', which creates a disjointed flow. The use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical, and the lack of a concluding paragraph significantly impacts the overall coherence of the piece. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, completed structure that contributes to the overall argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some topic-specific terms like 'metropolitan', 'infrastructure', and 'startups'. However, there are several errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'population in the countryside to dropping' (should be 'dropping') and 'Peoples can job hopping' (should be 'People can job-hop'). These errors, while not impeding communication, show a lack of precision. There is an attempt to use more sophisticated language, but it is often undermined by grammatical inaccuracies. Expanding your range of collocations and checking for word forms will help improve your score in this area.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('every person have', 'bigger cities has', 'metropolitan provide') and awkward phrasing ('where the they have cluster'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with double periods appearing in the second paragraph. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors is noticeable and affects the overall fluency of the writing. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and proofreading for minor slips in tense and pluralization.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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