Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-04

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 this modern era, many people are moving towards cities for a better liestyle but due to this population of the rural areas are decreasing. In my opinion this is a positive develomment not only for individuals but also for nation. This essay will be discuss its positive effect.

The reason behind this a better education. To elaborate, rural population do not have enough source of edcation in such places, to get a better education they are moving to cities and it can be a positive devlopment for them because in villages, schools conditions are not good but many students want to get higher education like they want to be a doctor, engineer and scientist. After getting a higher degree they can support their nation and rural areas also. Moreover, moving to cities lifestyle will be changed. To explain, in cities, facilities are available more as compared to rural areas because in rural aras people are unable to get basic facilities, such as ransportation, hospitals and employment. In cities thay can get such facilities.

Another reason behind this is skills will imrove like communication skill. To elaborate, in cities people can enhance their communication skill because they will meet other people and and communicate with them. As a result it can be beneficial for them also they will get a better environment.

In conclusion, to move in cties can be benefit not only for individuals but also for nation like their lifestyle will be changed and employment opportunities are more in cities as compared to villages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear stance that rural migration to cities is a positive development, but the ideas are only partially developed. While the writer mentions relevant points such as education and better facilities, these arguments lack sufficient extension and support. For example, the mention of schooling in phrases like 'schools conditions are not good' is stated generally without concrete examples or deeper elaboration. The conclusion and body paragraphs tend to repeat similar points about lifestyle changes and employment opportunities rather than introducing fully distinct, well-supported ideas. To reach a higher level, the writer needs to provide more fully developed explanations and specific examples to substantiate their claims.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, separating the introduction, body points, and conclusion adequately. The writer attempts to use cohesive devices and signaling phrases, such as 'To elaborate,' 'Moreover,' and 'Another reason behind this,' which helps guide the reader through the text. However, referencing is sometimes repetitive or mechanical, and the progression of ideas within paragraphs can feel disjointed due to abrupt transitions between sentences, such as moving directly from education to lifestyle changes without smooth integration. To improve, the writer should ensure that cohesive devices are used more naturally and that the logical flow between sentences and paragraphs is tighter.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey basic ideas about urban migration. There are noticeable errors in word choice, spelling, and word form, such as 'liestyle' instead of lifestyle, 'develomment' instead of development, and 'ransportation' instead of transportation. Additionally, awkward collocations and phrasing appear throughout the text, such as 'enough source of edcation' and 'skills will imrove like communication skill.' These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips occur frequently and occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range and demonstrate greater precision in word choice and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple constructions and repetitive templates. When the writer attempts complex sentences, they are often faulty, featuring frequent grammatical errors such as missing articles, incorrect pluralisation ('rural population do not have enough source'), and awkward prepositional use. Frequent errors in verb forms and agreement, such as 'population... are decreasing' and 'this essay will be discuss,' persist throughout the text and cause noticeable difficulty for the reader. To progress, the student needs to build better control over basic grammatical structures and increase the accuracy of their complex sentence forms.

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