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)

In certain countries of the world, the population of the village areas is declining as people are leaving them for cities. I think that this is a negative development because it will increase the congestion in cities and people will be unable to maintain a healthy life style.

The migration of people from rural areas into cities is a major threat. Its a threat due to the fact, that it will drastically increase the population of the cities. Cities have there own capacities in terms of accommodation and if migration continues it will disrupt that, resulting in many issues. For instance, Karachy is one of the congested city of Pakistan where I lived for almost 2 years. There is almost every problem in that city like traffic jams, pollution and many more because the number of people living there exceeds its limits.

In the same way, this movement of people from villages to cities will be a reason for the loss of a healthy lifestyle for many. No one can deny the fact that villages have a healthy environment because the food and water are clean and organic mostly. Similarly, the air is fresh and free from toxic particles as there are negligible number of industries in villages, Thus people migrating from villages will risk their health as well. For example, majority of cities have factories and more cars in comparison to villages which make the environment dirty which then becomes a reason for multiple diseases.

In conclusion, it can be argued that urbanisation puts human beings in alarming conditions as it will result in congestion and diseases.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses the prompt directly by taking a clear position that rural depopulation is a negative development. The response outlines two main reasons: urban congestion and the loss of a healthy lifestyle. While the ideas are relevant and supported with a specific example such as Karachi, the development tends to be somewhat repetitive and lacks deeper analysis. The arguments are stated simply rather than fully explored with broader socioeconomic perspectives. However, all parts of the task are addressed, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion, representing a clear overall structure. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments. Cohesive devices such as 'For instance', 'In the same way', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Its a threat due to the fact, that...'. Progression is generally logical, leading to a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases like 'urbanisation', 'congestion', and 'organic mostly'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as misspelling Karachi as 'Karachy', using 'healthy life style' as two words, and phrasing like 'a negligible number of industries'. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching the higher bands, placing this clearly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text, including missing apostrophes ('Its' instead of 'It's', 'there' instead of 'their'), comma splices ('...industries in villages, Thus people...'), and subject-verb agreement slips ('majority of cities have factories and more cars... which make'). Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear and communication is not impeded, which aligns with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

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

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