Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-01

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 many part of the world, people from remote areas are shifting to cities, resulting in decline in the countryside population. I believe this is largely a negative development, although cities facilitates with employment and health services.

One major drawback of rural to urban areas is that it badly affects the economy of rural village. Many people in countryside are involved in animal rearing and agriculture. younger generation have negative perspection towards this type of lower professions which makes them to migrate cities. Lack of workforce may result in slower pace of development as well.Additionally, only old aged individual contribute to local suburbs which may be insufficient to faster developmental works. Moreover, if the trend continues, specific rural places may disapper in the future.

Secondly, it inspires the younger generations to follow brain drain. It is crucial for each individuals to take the foot step of elderly ones. Conversely, governments should allocate large funding in various sectors to motivate upcoming generations to stay in their hometown serving to their locals. However, lack of development in country sides motivates them to migrate in new cities for the betterment of their own career. For instance, individuals of many countryside areas around the world are moving to cities for betterment of their opportunities.

Moreover, it could benefit the cities with new man powers assisting in the further technological advancements. Migration into new cities help individuals to pursue high profession such as doctors, engineers, etc which is limited in rural areas. It not only benefits specific cities, it helps those individual to attain a sustainable life. While countryside areas may suffer from negative consequence, an individuals can invest his money and skills later on.

To summarize, I believe it has negative impact overall on rural infrastructures and skilled man powers. Nevertheless, migration also help in individuals betterment.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially, taking a clear position that the migration of rural people to cities is a negative development. However, the ideas presented remain somewhat limited and under-developed. For example, while the writer mentions the economic impact on rural villages, such as in the sentence 'Many people in countryside are involved in animal rearing and agriculture', the supporting explanations rely on repetitive points rather than being fully extended. The essay touches upon multiple aspects like workforce shortages, brain drain, and urban benefits, but these concepts lack depth. To move up to the next band, the student needs to fully develop each main idea with specific, well-elaborated explanations and concrete examples rather than general assertions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organization with paragraphing used throughout the response, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and the connections between sentences can feel mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of transitional markers like 'Moreover' and 'Secondly'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, as seen in phrases like 'it inspires the younger generations', where the antecedent is ambiguous. To improve cohesiveness, the writer should ensure that each paragraph flows logically into the next with smoother transitions and clearer referencing across sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic message. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the text, such as 'lower professions', 'old aged individual', and 'disapper'. The student attempts less common vocabulary, but issues with word form, collocation, and spelling (e.g., 'facilitates' instead of 'facilitate', 'man powers' instead of 'manpower') cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the student must expand their lexical range, demonstrate more precise word choices, and minimize errors in spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, these are often faulty, featuring frequent errors in articles, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions within grammatical patterns. Examples of these errors include 'In many part of the world', 'rural to urban areas is that', and 'an individuals can invest'. These frequent errors can cause difficulty and distraction for the reader. To reach the next level, the writer needs to incorporate a wider mix of error-free complex structures and improve basic grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding pluralization and articles.

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.