Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-13

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)

It is constantly observed that in many nations across the globe, people from rural areas are migrating towards the urban areas, which is resulting into a huge decline in the population of countryside areas. I personally believe that its predominantly a negative development, while, people are migrating towards the cities for better lifestyle and careen opportunities, but it is causing severe infrastructure crisis in the city areas. This essay tends to analyze the reasons behind this, including my inclinations in the ensuing paragraphs.

Examining the darker side of migration of people from rural to urban areas. The foremost one is that with the increase in population in the urban city areas, the rural areas are becoming overcrowded and noisy which causes severe traffic congestions. Moreover, it results in huge damage to the cities infrastructure and economy. This also results in a major decline in the population of the countryside areas, because, maximum people are migration towards the high-rise, urban areas for employment opportunities and to live a vibrant social life. Therefore, the population in the rural areas is decreasing, adversely.

Further, re-enforcing my perspective, this has led to an increase in the living costs in cities, whereas, in countryside areas, there is a major decline of young population, leaving behind aging populations and failing local businesses. Therefore, migration of people should be managed wisely.

On the contrary, I would not overlook the advantages that the urban areas provide. The foremost one is that urban areas offers a vibrant social life and a better lifestyle. In addition to this, cities provide more employment opportunities and higher education universities which brings well qualified graduates. Moreover, cities offer better medical amenities and dispensaries as compared to the rural areas.

To conclude, it can be firmly commented that the migration of huge amount of people from countryside areas to the urban cities has caused a significant decline in the population of small towns and villages. No doubt, that the urban cities, provide better lifestyle and career opportunities, the rural areas are facing a considerable decline in the young population, causing the failing of local businesses. Hence, its a predominant negative development.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position that the rural-to-urban migration is a negative development. The essay presents reasons and examples supporting this view, covering both the drawbacks in cities such as infrastructure crises, traffic congestion, and increased living costs, as well as the problems in rural areas like aging populations and failing local businesses. The writer also acknowledges the counter-arguments, such as better lifestyle and career opportunities in cities. However, some ideas in the second paragraph are slightly confused and repetitive regarding rural overcrowding versus rural population decline. Overall, the task is adequately addressed, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing different aspects of the prompt, a counter-argument paragraph, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'On the contrary' are used to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing is occasionally problematic, and paragraph 2 contains a sentence fragment ('Examining the darker side of migration of people from rural to urban areas.') which disrupts the smooth progression of ideas. Additionally, some transitions feel a bit mechanical. Coherence and cohesion correspond to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the academic prompt, using terms such as 'infrastructure crisis', 'traffic congestions', and 'vibrant social life'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations throughout the essay, such as 'careen opportunities' instead of 'career opportunities', 'its predominantly' missing an apostrophe, and 'maximum people are migration' instead of 'migrating'. Word choice is sometimes imprecise, but the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning, placing it at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and relative clauses. There are, however, frequent grammatical and punctuation errors. Examples include sentence fragments ('Examining the darker side...'), incorrect verb forms ('people are migration'), and punctuation slips like missing commas before introductory elements or unnecessary commas before clauses ('whereas, in countryside areas'). While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, they occur often enough to prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. This performance aligns with a Band 6.0.

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