Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-16

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)

People living in the rura areas in many countries are relocating to the cities which is declining the population of countryside.

This is a possitive development because there are opportunity to explore in the city than in small towns .

Some villages are small with little or no development, this can result in dwelers not having much opportunity to develop themselves financially and other wise. because of the poor developments in these towns , individual living in it can be seen engaging in some crime because they are not priviledged to be in school and be literate. for instance, child marriage is seen to be on a rise in this rural areas because they are not knowledgable enough to understand to harm associated to it.

However , cities are place with lot of opportunities for a hardworking person ,there are numerous job for both educated abd none educated individual. this can help alliviate poverty. in addition , there is an easy access to healthcare facilities in the cities which not provide only healthcare services , it can be an avenue for job opportunity. for example , I relocated to lagos after i finished my nursing degree because there were no hospital in my town to apply for work .

In conclusion, in as much as the rural areas are often small and serene,it is not a good place for proper human development. cities are better option for individual to want to build themselves career wise and people who wants to explore different place, food and culture.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the rural-to-urban migration is a positive development. Key ideas are presented, such as economic opportunities, financial self-development, and better access to healthcare facilities. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and occasionally shifts into generalisations. For instance, the link between lack of development and crime or child marriage is asserted rather than fully explained or explored with adequate supporting depth. Furthermore, personal experience is introduced effectively at the end of the second body paragraph to support the point about healthcare infrastructure and employment. While all parts of the task are addressed, the depth of exploration places the response comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor range, where relevant ideas are present but remain somewhat under-developed in places.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as the disadvantages of rural life and the advantages of urban centers. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or handled awkwardly, as seen in transitions like 'Some villages are small with little or no development, this can result...' which contains a comma splice. Referencing and logical progression are occasionally strained by punctuation errors and fragmented sentence structures. While the overarching direction of the argument is clear, the mechanical handling of cohesion and occasional lack of smooth transitions prevent the essay from reaching a higher band score, aligning it with Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic points about urban and rural life. There are attempts to use less common items such as 'relocating', 'alliviate poverty', and 'infrastructure' (implied), but these are accompanied by noticeable spelling errors ('rura', 'possitive', 'dwelers', 'alliviate', 'abd') and word choice slips ('individual living in it', 'understand to harm'). These errors occasionally cause some minor difficulty for the reader. Nevertheless, the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the writer's perspective on the topic, matching the criteria for a Band 5.5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over complex structures is inconsistent. There are frequent punctuation and grammatical errors, including run-on sentences and comma splices, such as 'This is a possitive development because there are opportunity to explore in the city than in small towns' and 'However , cities are place with lot of opportunities for a hardworking person ,there are numerous job...'. Subject-verb agreement issues ('there are opportunity', 'there were no hospital') and missing articles are also present throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, their frequency prevents the attainment of a Band 6, placing the grammar performance at Band 5.0.

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

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