Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-03

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 6.5)

In many countries across the globe, people in rural areas are shifting to cities, so the population in the countryside is declining. I think this is a negative development because the cities will become overcrowded and the competition for jobs and other facilities will increase.

With rural people moving to cities, the population in the countryside is decreasing while the population in cities in increasing at an alarming rate. Most cities will not be able to accomodate this increase in population. The cities will eventually be overcrowded. There will be long traffic queues on roads which will cause agitation among the residents. Moreover, the increase in population would also lead to the increase in pollution if not managed properly, as more cars on the road would increase noise pollution and unmanaged waste would increase land pollution. For example, citizens offer suffer from severe headaches and migranes due to the noise pollution in the cities and the increase in population would aggrevate these issues.

Furthermore, the increase in population would also result in increasing competition among citizens in several aspects, such as jobs or housing facilities. Now hundreds if not thousands of more candidates will be applying for the same job. This would increase unemployment as the number of jobs remain the same but the applicants have drastically increased. Moreover, there will also be increased competition for housing facilities and other basic fundamental needs such as water, gas, and electricity. This is primarily because the resources remain the same but the consumers increased. For example, the government officals have refused to provide gas connections to the newly constructed houses in Islamabad as the quota for gas connections has already exceeded the limit.

In conclusion, rural people moving to cities is a negative development as it would result in the cities becoming overcrowded and constant competition among residents for basic facilities, which will adversely effect people's lives.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your response addresses all parts of the task by clearly presenting a position and taking a negative stance on rural-to-urban migration. Your ideas are extended and supported, such as when you discuss traffic, pollution, and housing competition, backed by a relevant example regarding Islamabad. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalise certain points, such as assuming that all cities will inevitably face overwhelming problems without sufficiently acknowledging mitigating urban planning strategies. The task instructions were fully followed, and 9 words copied from the prompt were correctly excluded from the main word count evaluation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

You demonstrate a clear logical organisation and progression throughout the essay. The introduction successfully outlines your position, followed by body paragraphs that each focus on a distinct consequence of urbanisation, such as environmental stress and resource competition, culminating in a clear conclusion. You use cohesive devices flexibly to link your ideas, such as 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct arguments, though occasional mechanical transitions could be made slightly more natural to achieve a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary choice provides an adequate range for the task, allowing you to discuss urbanisation with some precision using terms like 'overcrowded', 'unemployment', and 'fundamental needs'. You attempt less common vocabulary, but this is sometimes accompanied by spelling and word-choice errors that slightly impede communication or reveal a lack of precise control. For instance, words like 'accomodate' and 'aggrevate' contain spelling errors, and phrases such as 'citizens offer suffer' or 'consumers increased' show occasional inaccuracies in collocation and word form.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You successfully utilise a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over conditional and subordinate clauses, such as 'if not managed properly' and 'as the number of jobs remain the same'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'the population in cities in increasing' and 'resources remain the same but the consumers increased', as well as minor missing articles. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing your overall meaning to remain clear.

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