Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

It has been noticed that in many nations, the large number of people from rural areas are moving to big cities. Consequently, there is a steep decline in the population of the rural area. I personally think this is a negative trend for society.

To commence with, because of the lack of infrastructure, many young individuals are moving to big cities to pursue their higher studies or to get better career opportunities. Rural areas often lack better universities and colleges, so individuals have no choice other than leaving countryside to pursue their high education. Moreover, often institutions are not able to provide particular program which students are looking for. Furthermore, because of less resources and facilities, most of renowned establishments have their setups in cities, so people have to migrate in search of better job and future. Because, mostly big companies have high paying jobs with lucrative benefits.

However, the governments are also neglecting the rural areas. With this heavy migration, there is a unusual stress on the big cities related to housing, amenities and traffic. The governments are using their resources in fixing these issues and forget about countryside. This can cause more migration into the cities. Therefore, the authourities should focus not solely on cities but also on rural areas, so people can get amenities in their hometowns. This will help manage a proper balance and everyone get bennefitted from it.

To sum up, individuals are moving from the countryside to cities in search of better education and career. This has negative impact on society as cities get overcrowded and there will be crises related to housing and facilities. The governments should emphasize development in rural areas as well. This will stop migration and everyone will get access to the amenities properly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt directly, presenting a clear position that the rural-to-urban migration is a negative development. The writer covers all parts of the task by identifying causes such as education and career opportunities, and discussing the consequences like urban overcrowding and government neglect of the countryside. Ideas are generally well-extended, for example when explaining why young individuals migrate due to a lack of local resources and universities. While some supporting points could be further nuanced or expanded to reach a higher level of development, the response successfully fulfills the core requirements of Task 2. There is a clear progression of arguments from introduction to conclusion, demonstrating a good grasp of the prompt's demands and resulting in a solid band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression throughout. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'However'. However, some cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as the dangling transition 'Because, mostly big companies...'. Despite these minor flaws, the organization is easy to follow and guides the reader smoothly through the writer's arguments, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.5 or a solid Band 7 depending on structural flexibility, but here comfortably sits at 6.5 due to occasional mechanical linking.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'infrastructure', 'lucrative benefits', and 'authourities' (though misspelled). There are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'authourities' instead of authorities, 'bennefitted' instead of benefitted, and phrasing like 'high education' instead of higher education. Furthermore, expressions like 'unusual stress' are somewhat unnatural compared to 'immense pressure'. Despite these occasional errors and spelling slips, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, fitting comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'so people can get amenities in their hometowns.' However, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('leaving countryside', 'everyone get bennefitted'), incorrect prepositions, and sentence fragments (e.g., starting a sentence with 'Because, mostly big companies...'). While these errors are noticeable and detract from precision, they rarely impede overall communication. The control of grammar is adequate for a Band 6, showing an ability to construct moderately complex sentences despite persistent surface-level mistakes.

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

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