Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

The migration of rural people to cities is neither a positive development nor a negative development in my opinion. This is because migration of rural people to cities can cause a huge increase in the population, and many people will definitely be unemployed. The increase in populaton will increase the need of goods and raw materials.

If the population in the countryside decreases the farmland in the rural areas will be useless and many farmers will loose their livelihood. It is a great opportunity for the companies and landlords in the cities to appoint new workers and employees, so that they can earn some profits and many rural unemployed people will get a means of survival.

For example, a wage worker who is paid 200 a day in the rural areas will be paid 800 to 900 a day for the same work.The many reason for the migration of the people to cities is due to lack of opportunities and less wages for the workers. Whereas some put their transit homes near cities because their own houses might destroyed by the nature's attack.

I think that cities can develop a lot due to more emplyees and workers and can create new inventions which are helpfull, but on other hand these migration activities can cause a lot agricultural damage to the few people who are left in the villages or rural areas.

In conclusion, the positives of rural people migration to cities are high, while the negative are substantially less. Whereas the positives for the rural environment are very few than cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses the prompt by discussing both positive and negative aspects of rural migration to cities, attempting to take a balanced view initially before concluding that positives outweigh negatives. However, the position is somewhat contradictory at the start where the writer claims it is 'neither a positive development nor a negative development', yet later concludes that 'the positives of rural people migration to cities are high'. Ideas are introduced, such as economic benefits and agricultural damage, but they tend to be under-developed and lack extended explanation. Examples are provided, such as daily wage comparisons, but the overall argument remains simplistic and slightly disjointed. This aligns best with Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptors, specifically the characteristics of addressing the task with some under-developed ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with paragraphs used to separate different ideas, satisfying basic organizational needs. However, cohesion is at times faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Whereas some put their transit homes...' is abrupt and lacks a clear logical link to the surrounding sentences. Pronoun referencing is also occasionally confusing, as seen in the phrase 'their own houses might destroyed'. Paragraphing is present, but internal logical progression within paragraphs needs strengthening. The flow between sentences can feel disjointed due to limited and basic cohesive devices. Overall, the performance fits the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range well.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts related to employment, population, and migration. Words like 'unemployed', 'livelihood', and 'infrastructure-related' are attempted, but there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'populaton', 'loose' instead of 'lose', and 'emplyees'. The vocabulary used is mostly common and occasionally repetitive, with limited control over less common lexical items. Collocations are sometimes awkward, for instance, 'nature's attack' instead of 'natural disasters' or 'extreme weather'. These errors do not completely impede communication, placing the vocabulary profile solidly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures like 'If the population in the countryside decreases the farmland... will be useless'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including missing articles ('due to lack of opportunities'), incorrect verb forms ('might destroyed'), and punctuation issues such as a missing space after a full stop ('For example, a wage worker...The many reason'). Complex structures are often prone to errors. While communication is not severely hindered, the frequency of grammatical slips prevents the essay from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.5 the most appropriate evaluation.

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