Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Globally, several individuals are increasingly shifting from rural areas to cities in search of better life styles, due to which the number of people in such areas is decreasing rapidly. Although, moving to developed cities offers more employment opportunities and modern life styles, it also poses threats to environment and accommodation. From my perspective, negative results of this development far outweigh its positive consequences.

In many regions of the world, a huge number of residents of the suburbs move to big cities to find better employment opportunities. This development has raised concerns about their accommodation as well as it has polluted the environment at a significant rate. For instance, a large number of high-rise apartments have been building in various areas of the cities to support such a big number of people, as a result of which construction work is rising day-by-day. Subsequently, fuel consumption and carbon-footprint have been increasing every moment. Therefore, building large building blocks for the rural people in big cities has spoiled the air quality to a great extent.

Despite these drawbacks, some people still believe that living in industrial cities of the country would improve their living. This is due to fact that in villages, people often suffer due to unemployment issues, as they are not given enough facilities in villages. For example, many statistics show that poverty level is raising every moment in countryside areas, such as Toba Tek Singh in Pakistan is facing such difficulties. Therefore, people think that going to developed areas is crucial for improving their life styles. However, if national schemes will pay special attention to such problems in villages, situation can be improved a lot.

All in all, in spite of improving career prospects, moving to big cities pollutes not only threatens the environment but also results in the decreased amount of houses for residents.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task, presenting a clear position that the negative consequences of rural-to-urban migration outweigh the positive ones. The writer introduces relevant ideas regarding employment, environmental pollution, and housing issues, supporting them with examples such as high-rise apartments and the situation in Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan. However, some arguments lack deep extension, and the conclusion contains a slight mismatch where it mentions a decreased amount of houses while the body paragraphs focus mainly on high-rise construction and environmental concerns. Overall, the ideas are sufficiently developed to meet the criteria for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7 for a clear position, but constrained by slight under-development in the body paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, distinct body paragraphs, and a concluding summary. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different facets of the argument. Cohesive devices are generally present, using transitions like 'Although', 'For instance', 'Subsequently', and 'Despite these drawbacks'. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'due to which the number of people' and 'This is due to fact that'. Progression is generally clear throughout the text, warranting a solid Band 6.5 to 7.0 range for logical organization.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'employment opportunities', 'carbon-footprint', and 'industrial cities'. There are, however, several lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'life styles' (instead of lifestyles), 'high-rise apartments have been building' (passive voice error), 'poverty level is raising' (confusing raise and rise), and 'decreased amount of houses'. These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a Band 6 level where vocabulary control is inconsistent when attempting more sophisticated phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional and concessive clauses such as 'Although, moving to developed cities offers...' and 'if national schemes will pay special attention...'. Nevertheless, grammatical errors occur consistently throughout the response, including punctuation issues after introductory conjunctions, incorrect passive constructions ('have been building'), verb tense errors ('is raising' instead of 'is rising'), and a flawed conditional structure ('if national schemes will pay... situation can be improved'). Because these errors occasionally cause strain or require re-reading, the grammar score sits firmly at Band 6.0.

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