Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
Countryside is the best place to enjoy the nature. Nowadays people for all over the globe are more likely to shift to urban areas which results in less residents in countryside. I strongly believe that it is a negative development and i will discuss my view points in eumerated paragraphs.
To commence with, there are several reasons why people are leaving the countryside areas. Fristly the main reason is lack of basic facilities in the rural area. To explain this, most of the rural areas are underdevelop than urban areas and to find better amenities people tend shift in modern cities. For example, the hospitals in country side often do not have better or required quipments to treatment. Moreover, in developed cities there are plenty of jobs available for people with high salaries which enhances there living standard. Furthermore, cities there the good are easily acessable for consumers. Therefore, such facilities and oppounities convince people to move in urban areas.
On the flip side, there are several downsides of this trend. First and the foremost reason is that is rapidly increase the pollution level in cities which can result in several serious problem. For example, people may suffer from respiratory diseases and also from skin allergies. Another reason is that the rural areas remained underdeveloped because most of the educated people shift into cities. Apart from this, when the population in cities increase it threaten to forests. This is mainly because it put pressure on the builders to perform deforestation to construct new apartments and building for new residents.
In conclusion, this trend can cause several problem for humans and also threaten the environment. This issue can easily eradicate by providing the similar amenities to the residents in countryside.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses the prompt by clearly stating a position that the movement from rural to urban areas is a negative development. The writer outlines several reasons, such as a lack of basic facilities in rural areas and the subsequent downsides in cities like increased pollution and pressure on forests. However, some ideas are somewhat underdeveloped or repetitive, and the final solution offered at the end is a bit abrupt. The position is clear throughout, but the extension of ideas lacks depth in places, placing the response solidly in the Band 6.0 category.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is arranged into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing causes and downsides respectively, and a brief conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'Moreover', and 'On the flip side'. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical or awkward, such as 'Furthermore, cities there the good are easily acessable', which disrupts the natural flow. Paragraphing is present and serves to separate ideas, yet overall progression is occasionally hindered by clunky transitions, aligning the response with Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to the topic, including terms like 'respiratory diseases', 'deforestation', and 'underdeveloped'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'quipments', 'acessable', 'oppounities', and 'eumerated'. While these do not completely impede communication, they reveal a lack of control over less common lexical items, restricting the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'I strongly believe that it is a negative development and i will discuss my view points...' However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including lowercase 'i', missing articles ('in country side'), subject-verb agreement errors ('rural areas are underdevelop'), and awkward phrasing ('cities there the good are easily acessable'). These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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