Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Nowadays, the urban population is increasing day by day. This is an ongoing debate how to overcome the problems resulting in overpopulation. For better opportunities, people from rural areas are moving to cities, but the disadvantage is that the population in the countryside is decreasing. In my opinion, I strongly believe that it is a positive development.. This essay discusses views regarding this problem before drawing a conclusion.

To begin with, there are several reasons. One reason is that for better facilities and higher educational purposes people travelled from rural areas towards cities. For instance, the brilliant students are unable to achieve higher education in villages due to lack of professional teachers and universities, so they prefer to settle in cities, it saves both time and money. Other reason is that cities also provide electricity, transport facilities and other recreational activities. Furthermore, the medical services are also available 24 hours, but these facilities are not provided by local communities.

One of the positive development is to make our generations strong by providing them better opportunities because there are not modern facilities in villages. Although some disadvantages are also related to this, it should equip people much better facilities. For example, some people do not afford modern facilities, but they want to copy others and to fulfill their needs indulge himself in absurd activities including gambling.

In conclusion, although people moving from rural areas to cities promote positive development, it also have some detrimental impact on society. In my opinion, both developments are necessary, in this regard, a balanced approach is essential to maintain a healthier environment that will prove beneficial in the future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by expressing a clear position that urban migration is a positive development, but the ideas are only partially developed. While the writer mentions reasons such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, these points remain somewhat limited and lack sufficient extension with specific examples. For instance, the discussion on higher education mentions that students move for better opportunities, but this idea is not fully elaborated with concrete details. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to expand on their main ideas with fully supported explanations and more thorough elaboration rather than relying on brief generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic logical organisation, and the essay is divided into paragraphs, though the overall progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed. The writer uses some basic cohesive devices, such as 'To begin with', 'For instance', and 'In conclusion', but referencing and linking within paragraphs can be mechanical or unclear, such as the sudden shift in the third paragraph. Paragraphing is attempted, but some paragraphs contain mixed ideas that would be better separated. To improve, the writer should ensure a smoother flow of ideas between sentences and paragraphs, using a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally without repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, providing enough range to communicate the basic argument, but it lacks precision and flexibility. There are notable errors in word choice and word formation, such as 'One of the positive development' instead of 'development' and 'indulge himself' instead of 'themselves'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy, such as 'absurd activities'. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their lexical repertoire and use precise collocations and correct word forms more consistently, while paying closer attention to vocabulary accuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but the range of structures is somewhat limited and control is inconsistent. Frequent grammatical errors occur, including issues with subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and article usage, such as 'people travelled from rural areas' and 'it also have some detrimental impact'. Complex structures attempted by the student are often faulty, such as run-on sentences and comma splices like 'cities, it saves both time and money'. To progress, the writer needs to demonstrate greater control over complex sentence patterns and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical errors.

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