Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-12
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)
nowadays villagers are moving to urban areas due to many reasons. that is is a significant issue for many sides especially governments and citizens . as a result of people are moving to metropolitian areas , population in the countryside is rapidly decreasing . it is a negative development as i think . now i explain why this gives negative affect for the society .
in the 21st century people rely too much money . they move to metropolition areas from rural areas , because in urban areas have good career opportunities. but that case cause to the overcrowding . almost urban areas don't have enough land space even urban citizens. then villagers come to the cities and this situation rapidly goes to the detrimental side. for instance in colombo apartments are more popular than disattached houses. overcrowded cause to the collapse good infastructure . for instance in colombo traffic congetion would be higher during the rush hours.
furthermore, as a result of people are moving to cities , the population in the countryside goes down significantly. in this situation governments never provide to develop villages because of less population especially in developping countries. for instance some villages don't have good infastructures like transportaion and electricity .not only infastructures but also it is a matter who are live in countryside without moving the metropolition areas.
in conclusion , almost countries around in the world, villagers are moving to the cities , sothe population in the countryside is decreasing rapidly. it gives a lot of bad affects such as overcrowded in the urban cities, decrease the quality of life style and villages aren't never develop in developping countries.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that the movement of rural people to cities is a negative development. Ideas are presented regarding urban overcrowding, infrastructure collapse, and the decline of rural populations and services. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat limited and repetitive, with over-generalized assertions rather than deeply extended arguments. Examples are provided, such as mentioning Colombo, but they lack detailed elaboration. The overall treatment aligns best with Band 6, as all parts of the task are addressed and a clear viewpoint is maintained throughout, though some points are underdeveloped.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an overall coherent arrangement. However, logical progression is frequently hindered by inadequate or repetitive cohesive devices and referencing issues, such as starting sentences with 'that is is a significant issue' or 'now i explain'. Paragraphing is utilized, but transitions between ideas feel mechanical and abrupt. Furthermore, punctuation and capitalization errors throughout the text disrupt the flow of reading, placing the performance at a solid Band 5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and topic-related terms such as 'metropolitan', 'infrastructure', 'overcrowding', and 'career opportunities'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'disattached houses', 'congetion', 'infastructures', and 'affects' used instead of 'effects'. These errors, combined with awkward collocations like 'collapse good infastructure', occasionally strain the reader's understanding, though communication is generally maintained. This corresponds to the Band 5 descriptor level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent errors in basic sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and article usage, such as 'nowadays villagers are moving', 'that case cause to the overcrowding', and 'villages aren't never develop'. Punctuation is largely neglected, with missing capital letters at the beginning of sentences and improper spacing around commas. Because these errors occur with high frequency and occasionally obscure the intended meaning, the grammar score falls into the Band 5 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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