Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-19
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 5.0)
In this modren era, public debate has been going on over whether , in many countries , local individuals moving to cities has decreased the population in the countryside . I consider that a decline in the rural population has a positive impact due to keep the villagers safe and neet.
On the one hand , there are serval factors that support the idea that a low local population in the countryside has a positive impact on development .The most important one is that a decrease in the rural population in the countryside may help the ecnomy and turism industry develop.That is to say , protecting the biodiversity and providing a quite atmosphere can help attract local ans international tourism.
On the other hand , i admit that decreasing number of individuals who are living in the countryside may affect development . In other words , a lack of workers in the countryside may negatively affect agriculture.Fr more explanation , fewer farmers may lead to lower agricultural production . So , it would cause a low amount of products that the framland produces.
In conclusion , I would argue that the decline in the rural population in the countryside has significant positive effects that outweigh the negative ones.Overall, this can assist protect the enviornment , provide a better habitat for animals and promote tourism.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response addresses the prompt by discussing whether the movement of rural people to cities is a positive or negative development, taking a clear stance that it is positive. However, the task achievement is significantly limited by the length requirement, as the text contains only 224 words, falling short of the 250-word minimum. This results in a penalty for under-length. Furthermore, the ideas presented are somewhat underdeveloped and repetitive, particularly regarding the environment and tourism. While the writer outlines both sides of the argument, the elaboration remains brief and simplistic, preventing the essay from reaching a higher band. To improve, ensure you fully develop your supporting arguments with specific examples and meet the word count.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay displays a basic overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, including an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. The writer uses standard transitional markers like 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand', but punctuation errors around these devices (e.g., spaces before commas, as in 'whether , in many countries ,') disrupt the flow. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the logical progression between sentences feels disjointed at times, especially in the third body paragraph where the explanation abruptly shifts. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion needs strengthening through smoother transitions and accurate punctuation.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary for the task. There are several noticeable spelling errors throughout the essay, such as 'modren', 'serval', 'ecnomy', 'turism', 'ans', 'Fr', 'framland', and 'enviornment', which indicate poor spelling control. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary like 'biodiversity' and 'agricultural production', word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward (e.g., 'due to keep the villagers safe and neet', 'quite atmosphere'). These lexical errors and frequent misspellings cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the score to a Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'In this modren era, public debate has been going on over whether...' and 'The most important one is that a decrease in the rural population... may help...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in punctuation (unnecessary spaces before punctuation marks), articles, and word forms. For instance, 'decreasing number of individuals' lacks a determiner, and 'due to keep' is grammatically incorrect. While the meaning is generally retrievable, the frequency of errors in basic and complex structures prevents the text from achieving a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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