Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-26

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)

With the increasing awareness of a healthy lifestyle in public, people are now moving to cities. Country side provides a lot of benefits, but also has some disadvantages such as increased traffic congestion and noise level. I believe that it is a positive development because of the affordability, but a balanced approach should be adopted.

Moving to urban areas provides people with major benefits. First and foremost, cities are much more quiet in contrast to rural areas. The roads are not packed with traffic which provides a much peaceful environment. Lesser traffic means lesser air pollution, which is a significant advantage to public. Nowadays, people are concerned about their health, so cleaner air provides them with the opportunity to breathe freely. Another advantage is people live a stress-free life. The constant exposure to noise in the countryside leads to physical and mental strain, whereas the suburbs are serene. For instance, serenity helps one to feel refreshed and recharged, while constant noise may make one feel irritated.

From my perspective, it is a positive development. Cities are much more cheap compared to countryside, mainly talking about housing and the markets. In the countryside, there is a rapid development of business. Because the market grows rapidly, competition becomes unbeatable. This consequently results in prices being increased. Furthermore, buying an affordable house or even renting one in the rural area is a major challenge. However, suburbs provide a variety of choices. Markets run on bargaining, and buying a house is not seen as a problem. Although, there are several perks of moving to urban area, but it may come along with fewer facilities.

In conclusion, people are moving to cities which provides them with the benefits of mental peace, better health assurance as well as affordability, but facilities not being widely available, is a drawback. Government should also work for the development of cities to provide the general public with a better quality of life. Government should adopt considerable measures to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that urban migration is a positive development and supports this with reasons. However, there is a fundamental confusion regarding the characteristics of rural and urban areas throughout the essay. The writer repeatedly states that cities are 'much more quiet' and 'serene' with 'lesser air pollution', while the countryside has 'increased traffic congestion and noise level' and 'constant exposure to noise'. This reverses general real-world facts and affects the development of ideas. While the writer attempts to discuss housing affordability, the arguments are occasionally muddled. To reach a higher band, the ideas must accurately reflect the concepts discussed and be logically supported without contradicting general knowledge or common terminology.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing an attempt at paragraphing. However, the logical progression is hindered by contradictory statements and confusing shifts in focus. For instance, the first body paragraph argues that cities are quiet and peaceful, which disrupts the flow of logical argumentation regarding rural-urban migration. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes inaccurately or mechanically, such as 'Furthermore' and 'However' in places where they do not logically transition the ideas. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within the body paragraphs is weakened by the unusual mapping of rural and urban characteristics.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'traffic congestion', 'stress-free life', and 'unbeatable competition'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and inappropriate word choices, most prominently confusing the definitions of 'cities'/'suburbs' and 'countryside'/'rural area'. Additionally, phrases like 'Cities are much more cheap' instead of 'cheaper', and 'better health assurance' indicate strain in lexical control. Spelling is generally accurate, but word choice errors occasionally impede smooth comprehension and demonstrate limited precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'Although, there are several perks of moving to urban area, but it may come along with fewer facilities.' There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('to urban area'), incorrect comparative forms ('more cheap' instead of 'cheaper'), and misuse of conjunctions in the same sentence ('Although... but...'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical inaccuracies occur consistently throughout the text, placing it firmly in the Band 5.0 range where frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.