Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-14
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 4.0)
The debate about numbers of people relocating to cities is often discuss relating to decrease proportion of individuals in countryside. in my opinion it is a great positive development because there are a lot of job opportunities and modern medical facilities.
one main benefits is that it provide jobs opportunities for people depending their qualification, and even without certificates. for instant, cleaning
Another reason is good schools with experienced tutors to impact on the children
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is severely under-length, containing only 75 words compared to the required minimum of 250 words. Because of this extreme word count deficit, the development of ideas is heavily curtailed, resulting in a partial treatment of the task. While the writer manages to state a clear position that urban migration is a positive development and mentions valid points such as job opportunities, medical facilities, and education, these ideas remain underdeveloped fragments. For instance, the mention of cleaning jobs and schools lacks necessary extension, support, and examples. Due to failing to meet the minimum length requirement and providing only rudimentary development of the prompt, this response falls into the lower bands for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The text demonstrates very limited organization and coherence. The response consists of an introduction and two extremely brief fragment paragraphs rather than a fully cohesive essay structure. There is a lack of adequate paragraphing and logical progression between the ideas. Cohesive devices are largely absent, with only basic transitions like 'Another reason' used, and referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the dangling phrase 'depending their qualification'. Although the general topic remains visible, the absence of a proper overall structure and cohesive framework prevents the text from achieving a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The lexical resource used is basic and restricted. The student employs common vocabulary items such as 'people', 'cities', 'jobs', and 'schools', alongside noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'is often discuss relating to decrease proportion' and 'provide jobs opportunities'. There are also spelling mistakes, including 'for instant' instead of 'for instance'. While the vocabulary is just about adequate to convey the basic subject matter, the extremely limited range, lack of less common lexical items, and persistent vocabulary inaccuracies restrict the score to this level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or attempt complex forms that are incomplete or contain frequent grammatical errors. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('one main benefits is'), incorrect preposition usage ('depending their qualification'), and fragmented sentence structures, such as 'Another reason is good schools with experienced tutors to impact on the children', which lacks a main verb completion. These persistent errors and the lack of a varied, accurate grammatical range cause noticeable difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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