Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-17
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)
In several countries, the trend of residents moving to cities have been observed. This trend has lead to the decrease in population in the countryside areas. In my opinion, it is a negative development because the increasing migration in one area can cause the crisis of resources and increase traffic congestion in the cities area.
People moving to cities in large numbers can lead to the problems such as overcrowded. Residents living in cities can face the issues of resources crisis. The increasing cost of water supply, foods, limited jobs are some of the negative impacts has cities migration has caused. When there is large number of people, the demand of basis resources increases. As a result, people now have to struggle more to get those resources.The competition in every field increases which can brings more unemployment people in the society.
Another impact that increasing population in urban area can cause traffic congestion. Although there are more number of public and private vechiles which are run to make daily transportation better, overcrowed can make traffic jams. Consequently, number of hours to reach any place will increase. It will waste the time of citizens. Increaing problems in transportation could increase the accident rate over time. For example, In office hours due to large number of vehiches in the road and urgenty of people gets late to their office and several accident news spread.
In conclusion, irregular development of cities and countryside has lead to mass migration in urban areas. I believe it is a negative development as it creates the issues of resources crisis and traffic congestion.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that the rural-to-urban migration trend is a negative development. The student identifies two main supporting areas: a resource crisis and traffic congestion. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited and repetitive. For instance, the discussion on resources touches on food, water, and jobs, but the points are generalized and under-developed rather than deeply explored with fully realized examples. Similarly, the traffic argument relies on broad statements rather than precise illustration. The main parts of the task are addressed, earning a Band 6.0 under the descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, demonstrating an overall logical arrangement. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as resource issues in the second paragraph and traffic problems in the third. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Phrases like 'Another impact that increasing population in urban area can cause traffic congestion' suffer from grammatical awkwardness that disrupts smooth progression. Referencing and cohesive links are basic, and some transitions between sentences feel abrupt. Overall progression is maintained, but the execution fits the Band 6.0 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for communicating the main ideas, featuring terms like 'migration', 'congestion', 'unemployment', and 'transportation'. However, there are numerous word choice errors and unnatural collocations throughout the text, such as 'crisis of resources' instead of 'resource crisis', 'cities area', 'basis resources' instead of 'basic resources', and 'vehiches'. The student attempts less common vocabulary, but these inaccuracies and spelling slips prevent the score from rising higher. The lexical range is sufficient for the task but exhibits noticeable limitations, corresponding to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional-style framing and relative clauses ('Although there are more number of public and private vechiles which are run...'). However, grammar and punctuation errors are frequent throughout the response, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the trend of residents moving to cities have been observed', 'impact has cities migration has caused') and awkward phrasing. These errors occasionally strain the reader, though communication is generally maintained. The level of accuracy and control aligns best with a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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