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)

Across the globe, a growing number of people are migrating from rural villages to urban areas. The world is transforming in a postive way, more number of people are preferring to live in cities rather then villages or small towns. This was never a big debate because the world knows the benfits in living big cities, where they can have more facilties and services.

The city life come up with a power of growth and several amenities whereas, in village life there are limited resources. The biggest example between the two are utilities, now electricity and gas which are two major needs is available in every part of the city but, in some villages people lack this need. Busninesses are now opening in cities because the traders and suppliers know the real place of growth. There are limited and small hospitals in villages with not enough resouces, we can say that today in urban areas there are small dispenceries, while in urban side there are serveral hospitals having every equipment, machines, operation theaters and many other life saving equipments. Offices, markets, brands are now heading to the cities rather then taking a risk of loss by going on the urban side. According to latest survey report of japan, in the last ten years population in the city side of the world seen a huge increment. The survey report stated that the population in these 10 years increased 8 times as compared to the previous years.

In my opinion, migration from rual areas to urban areas is making a positive effect around the world. Migration is helping people to have a better life, with advance amenities and resources with everything nearby them. People should understand the difference between urban and rural lifestyle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position that rural-to-urban migration is a positive development. Key ideas regarding better infrastructure, employment opportunities, and healthcare facilities are presented. However, the development of these ideas remains somewhat superficial and repetitive. For example, the writer mentions that cities have 'more facilties and services' and later lists utilities and hospitals, but the arguments are not fully extended with deep analysis. The inclusion of a specific survey reference ('According to latest survey report of japan') adds a supporting detail, though it is framed rather vaguely. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it at a Band 6 level where relevant ideas are presented but remain partially under-developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The writer attempts to sequence ideas logically, moving from general statements about migration in the introduction to specific examples of infrastructure differences in the body paragraph, and concluding with a personal stance. However, cohesion is frequently faulty and mechanical. There are noticeable issues with referencing and transition words, such as 'whereas, in village life' and 'while in urban side there are serveral hospitals'. Furthermore, paragraphing is underdeveloped; the second paragraph is excessively long and crams multiple disparate points—utilities, businesses, hospitals, and survey statistics—together without clear internal cohesive signposts, which limits the score to a Band 5.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using common words related to urban and rural lifestyles such as 'migration', 'infrastructure', 'amenities', and 'resources'. However, there are frequent spelling errors ('postive', 'benfits', 'facilties', 'Busninesses', 'resouces', 'dispenceries', 'serveral', 'rurall') and word-form issues ('the urban side' instead of 'urban areas'). While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary, inaccuracies in spelling and collocation are noticeable. These errors do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 5, as the control over less common items is inconsistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some capability to construct longer sentences, such as 'Across the globe, a growing number of people are migrating from rural villages to urban areas.' However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the population in the city side... seen a huge increment', 'electricity and gas which are two major needs is available'), incorrect prepositional use ('in living big cities'), and awkward phrasing ('The city life come up with a power of growth'). Attempts at complex structures often result in faulty punctuation or awkward clauses. Because frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, a Band 5 is appropriate.

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