Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-06

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 day and age, across various countries people from undeveloped places are moving for urban areas for jobs and employment to seek better opportunity, as a result population from rural areas are decreasing, however, both aspect has pros and cons. I believe this is a negative development because their numerous reasons for negative beyond benefits.

On the one hand, nowadays many people move for city rather than staying in countryside, due to several opportunities do they have. As a results people get more salary and people can experience luxury facilities, such as metro, five star restaurants, and malls. Additionally, commuters can get chances for move abroad to get better life style by the support of company where they may promoted to higher post.

On the other hand, having these pros, several cons led as the people move for cities, the rural areas or unprivileged villages may suffer hard. Authorities neglect to develop these areas. For instance, it leads to poor sanitation, cultural and tradition may vanished over the period. Consequently, the agricultural industry lack behind, as individuals prefer corporate jobs in cities, this crop cultivation not grown as per demand, Although, cities offer better luxury experience, while it can not offer peace , and cannot be connected to the nature,

To conclude, moving to cities have more opportunities, however, peace and convenient surroundings is available. I believe, moving to urban areas is negative development, government should make policies for developing rural areas need to implemented.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the positive and negative aspects of rural-to-urban migration, ultimately taking a clear position. However, the essay falls slightly short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the task completion. While the ideas are relevant, the development is somewhat superficial; for example, the mention of 'cultural and tradition may vanished' is a valid point but lacks specific elaboration or concrete examples. The conclusion is a bit abrupt and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To improve, ensure you meet the word count and provide more depth to your supporting arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. While cohesive devices like 'On the one hand' and 'Consequently' are used, they are sometimes applied incorrectly or in a way that feels forced. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'having these pros, several cons led as the people move for cities', which makes the connection between ideas difficult to follow. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words will help create a smoother progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward collocations and word choice errors, such as 'undeveloped places' instead of 'rural areas' or 'lack behind' instead of 'lag behind'. Some phrases are repetitive, and the use of 'luxury facilities' to describe urban amenities is slightly imprecise. To reach a higher band, focus on using more sophisticated vocabulary and ensuring that words are used in their correct idiomatic context.

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. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'both aspect has'), incorrect preposition usage (e.g., 'moving for urban areas'), and tense inconsistencies. Punctuation is also problematic, particularly with comma splices and run-on sentences. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the writing from achieving a higher score. Focusing on sentence construction and proofreading for basic errors will be beneficial.

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