Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-29

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 the contemporary world, individuals form backward areas are migrating to urban centers, which leads to reducing population in rural areas. Although this transformation may causes population congestion in cities, I believe this is a positive development. The main reasons behind this view are higher facilities for education and employment ;moreover, it provides higher proportion of land for agricultural activities.

A primary benefit is many individuals can access better educational facilities. Urban centres provide convinence for learning, and individuals can also explore a variety of employment opportunities. In this way there will be more educated people. For example, many children who live in cities are well-educated because they have a better leaning environment and career prospects.

Another advantage of moving towards cities is countries may have more fertile land for natural vegetation. When countries have more land in rural areas they can grow more crops and vegetables, which are ultimately beneficial for overall economy. This process not only provide healthy food for humans but also provide more employment opportunities for individuals in rural areas. For instance, many families in pakistan migrate to rural areas and relocate in cities, as they handover their lands to farmers in rural places for irrigation purposes. In return, they get organic wheat or rice from them.

In conclusion, the large segments of rural areas are moving in urban areas for improving lifestyles. From my perspective, this is a positive development because this transformtion gives access to more educated society and more natural food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that the rural-to-urban migration trend is a positive development, supporting it with two main arguments concerning education/employment and agricultural land use. However, the development of ideas is sometimes limited and repetitive. Furthermore, the response is under length, containing 248 words against the required 250-word minimum, which impacts the overall task achievement score. While the position is understandable, the brief development and failure to meet the minimum word count prevent this criterion from reaching Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, showing a clear overall structure. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different ideas. However, cohesion at the sentence level is occasionally faulty or mechanical, such as the awkward transition 'In this way there will be more educated people' and repetitive referencing phrases. Logical progression between sentences can be disjointed, as seen in the second body paragraph where agricultural benefits and economic impacts are loosely connected. Overall, the organizational framework is coherent enough to meet the Band 6 descriptor, though mechanical cohesive devices and occasional unclear referencing prevent a higher score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic ideas about urbanization and agriculture. However, there are notable spelling errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'backward areas' instead of 'rural or developing areas', 'convinence' instead of 'convenience', 'transformtion' instead of 'transformation', and 'learning' instead of 'leaning'. While the student attempts some less common vocabulary like 'contemporary world' and 'fertile land', inaccuracies in spelling and collocation restrict the lexical range and precision, placing the response firmly within Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. Examples of complex structures include 'Although this transformation may causes population congestion in cities, I believe this is a positive development.' However, there are noticeable grammatical errors that persist throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this transformation may causes') and prepositional errors ('individuals form backward areas', 'moving in urban areas'). Punctuation and article usage are also occasionally faulty. Because these errors occur frequently alongside a limited range of complex structures, the writing aligns best with the Band 5 descriptors.

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