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)
Individuals who live in the rural areas are nowadays moving to the cities which has caused a decrease in the population of rural areas.The lack of job oppertunities and resources in the rural area has caused the individuals living in the countryside to move to cities.I beleieve it is a positive development for the people living in the countryside.
The individuals living in the countryside have no proper resources such as hospitals, educational institudes and the most important thing job oppertunities.The most sigificant thing for us human being is water but the people in the rural areas don't even have clean water to drink.They have to walk for miles to find water.Although after the search they do get water but that water has so many impurities that it should not be drinked directly.It needs to be purified.
Moreover,the education system in the rural areas is destroyed.Their are no schools,universities for the childrens in the rural area.This is causing most of the problems in the rural area for instance if a child is not educated how will he know whats good and whats bad for him.Due to the lack of institution the children don't get educated. if a person wants to change their life the best way is to get education for example if a child is educated he will know that drinking impure water will affect his health and will try to purify it making a development.
To conclude,the city has many oppertunities which can help the individuals living in the countryside.Therefore, it is a positive development for them to move in the cities and get the all the education, resources and oppertunties they need and in the future they can use them to benefit their people in the coutryside.
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 discussing the shift of rural populations to cities and taking a clear position that this is a positive development. Key ideas such as employment opportunities, basic infrastructure like clean water, and access to education are introduced and supported with examples, such as the struggles of finding drinkable water and the long-term benefits of education. However, some arguments lack full extension and are slightly repetitive, particularly the points regarding education and drinking water. There is a tendency to over-generalise conditions in rural areas. Nevertheless, all parts of the task are addressed, and the position is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6 descriptors well.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs focusing on specific aspects (water and education), and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used to separate ideas, although transitions between sentences can be mechanical or abrupt, such as starting sentences without proper spacing after commas. Cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'To conclude' are employed to structure the text, but referencing is occasionally unclear or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'the rural area' without smooth pronouns. Overall, the logic is discernible and follows a progression, matching the requirements of Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items like 'opportunities', 'impurities', and 'institutes'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the essay, such as 'oppertunities', 'beleieve', 'institudes', 'sigificant', and 'drinked'. Furthermore, collocation and word forms are occasionally inaccurate, for instance, 'move in the cities' instead of 'move to cities' and 'making a development'. These errors do not seriously impede communication but restrict the score to a Band 5.5, showing characteristics of both Band 5 and Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting conditionals and relative clauses such as 'if a child is not educated how will he know...' and 'Individuals who live in the rural areas are nowadays moving...'. However, there are frequent errors in punctuation, particularly missing spaces after commas and periods (e.g., 'Moreover,the', 'countryside.The'), and grammatical inaccuracies such as subject-verb agreement issues ('Their are no schools') and missing articles. While complex structures are attempted, they often contain minor flaws. Communication is rarely impeded, placing the performance securely at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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