Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-04

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)

The people in the rural areas are most deprived community of any country. They lack some basic necessities of life and are deprived of the fundamental rights, such as education, electricity, water, health facilities, food, etc.

There are some villages in my country where electricity does not appear for 3-4 days or sometimes months. The people of those villages travel miles to reach a city to get a checkup because they don't have hospitals or doctors in the village. The schools and education system of the villages are debatable as well, where teachers have no interest in teaching the students, and students have no one to learn from. Considering these challenges in the countryside, the villagers mostly decide to move to the cities or some urban areas where they can get their basic life necessities and their children get a desired and better future.

The question as to whether their moving to the cities is positive or negative is worth concerning. The people shift to other place because they do not have basic necessities at their hometown, so they will move to the places where they get the better life. Even if it is causing any affect on the population, it should not matter to them.

However, in my opinion, it could be good in a sense that the lack of people makes the places abandoned and a left-alone place start taking care of its own, and that is where nature flourish. But, there is a negative aspect as well which is that the culture and norms would fed away if the all the population moves to the urban side.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing the reasons for rural-to-urban migration and touches upon whether it is a positive or negative development. However, the position is not clearly defined or consistently maintained throughout the essay. While the first two paragraphs focus on the 'why' (lack of facilities), the evaluation of whether this is positive or negative is underdeveloped and somewhat contradictory. The conclusion attempts to balance both sides but lacks depth and specific supporting evidence. To improve, you should clearly state your position in the introduction and ensure each body paragraph provides a well-developed argument that directly supports your stance, rather than simply describing the situation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The transition between the description of rural hardships and the evaluation of the migration trend is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as 'The question as to whether their moving to the cities is positive or negative is worth concerning.' Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of ideas. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', and 'better life'. There are also instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'the lack of people makes the places abandoned' and 'culture and norms would fed away'. To achieve a higher score, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary and collocations, such as 'infrastructure' instead of 'basic necessities' or 'diminish' instead of 'fed away'. Expanding your range of academic vocabulary will help you express your ideas more precisely.

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 impede clarity. Examples include 'The people in the rural areas are most deprived community' (missing article), 'electricity does not appear' (inappropriate verb choice), and 'if the all the population moves' (redundant article). Punctuation is generally functional, but the control over complex structures is inconsistent. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, correct article usage, and ensuring that your complex sentences are constructed accurately without errors that distract the reader.

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

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