Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-25

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 many countries around the world, rural people are moving to cities, causing the population of countryside to decrease. I strongly believe this is a positive development because cities provide better job opportunities and access to essential amenties.

One major advantage is that people can find better jobs in urban areas. In the big cities there are many companies, business, and job opportunties and better salary, for their home and financial issues, in the small town there is no scope of any degree and not too much salary this is the main reason they are coming to big cities. Therefore, individuals are shifted to rural areas they have become to financial stable and growth of their children and improved their overall living. For instance, many young people move to big cities to find jobs in offices, hospitals, schools and technology companies.

One another advantage, the significant benefits is access to education and health care. Urban areas generally have a more schools, universites and hospitals than the rural communities. additionally, this allows to recieve best education and medical treatments. Some people more benefits to study in university to learn skills from there in future career. Similarly, some people graduated from medical colleges and doing free work to their poor communities. Moreover, these are not earn too much and would not pay their own medical bills. Doctors gives their best in this life.

In conclusion, although the decline in rural populations can create some challenges. I consider this trend a positive development. Better job opportunities, schools health care and economic prospects can significantly help people and achieve the higher standard of living.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student addresses all parts of the task by taking a clear and developed position that rural-to-urban migration is a positive development. The main arguments centre around employment opportunities, education, and healthcare access. The response clearly states this stance in the introduction and reiterates it in the conclusion. However, the development of ideas in the body paragraphs suffers from some tangential statements and repetitive reasoning, particularly in the third paragraph where the focus shifts somewhat unclearly towards doctors working in poor communities. While the ideas are relevant, they are not always fully extended or logically supported with precise examples. Therefore, the response corresponds well to Band 6.0, as it addresses the task with relevant ideas, though some parts are under-developed or unclear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct ideas, such as employment in the second paragraph and education/healthcare in the third. However, cohesion at the sentence level is frequently faulty or mechanical. Examples include transitional phrases like 'One another advantage, the significant benefits is' and 'additionally, this allows to recieve best education', which disrupt the natural flow. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use referring back to vague antecedents. Overall, the structural progression is visible, but the mechanical nature of cohesive devices and clunky transitions place this firmly at Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms such as 'opportunities', 'financial stability', 'urban areas', and 'prospects'. However, there are numerous noticeable word choice errors, spelling mistakes, and awkward collocations throughout the text. For instance, 'amenties' is misspelled, 'business' is used as a singular noun where plural is needed ('companies, business, and job opportunties'), and phrases like 'individuals are shifted to rural areas' misuse basic terminology. Attempts at less common vocabulary are frequent but marred by inaccuracy, such as 'free work' instead of voluntary work or pro bono services. Because these lexical errors are noticeable and occasionally require the reader to pause, a score of 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over basic structures. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors that occasionally impede communication. Examples of grammatical lapses include subject-verb agreement issues ('the population of countryside', 'there is no scope... and not too much salary'), tense inconsistencies, and fragments or run-on sentences ('Doctors gives their best in this life'). Punctuation is also problematic in places, such as comma splices and missing periods. Complex sentence attempts are frequently faulty, leading to convoluted expressions like 'Some people more benefits to study in university to learn skills from there in future career.' This profile reflects Band 5.0.

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