Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-05

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 4.0)

Most of the countries around the world, rural individuals are moving to cities and the population in the countryside is fell. I believe it is a positive and negative development.

On the one hand, nowadays many individuals moving in cities because it has many facilities to do work, job, schools, near by hospital. It has many new things are provided and they learn many things in cities

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words, stopping at only 67 words, which significantly restricts the development of the task. While the writer attempts to address the prompt by discussing urban migration and its positive and negative aspects, the ideas remain extremely limited and under-developed. The introduction hints at a balanced view, but the body paragraph only touches upon basic reasons for moving to cities, such as facilities and hospitals, without fully exploring or supporting either the positive or negative developments. To improve, the writer must expand the response substantially, ensuring that both sides of the issue are thoroughly explored with relevant explanations and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

Information and ideas are not arranged coherently across the text. Although basic linking words like 'On the one hand' are attempted, the overall progression is disrupted by the extreme brevity of the response and abrupt transitions. Paragraphing is not used sufficiently or appropriately, as the writing merges multiple ideas into a single, underdeveloped body section without a clear concluding structure. Pronoun referencing and substitution are also absent, making the flow disjointed. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to group ideas logically into distinct paragraphs, use a wider range of cohesive devices accurately, and ensure a clear overall progression from introduction to conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, employing common words such as 'people', 'cities', and 'things' multiple times. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'population in the countryside is fell' (incorrect word form) and 'many individuals moving in cities' (missing preposition). While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey a simple meaning, these errors and the lack of less common lexical items restrict the range. To enhance lexical resource, the student should incorporate a wider variety of precise nouns, adjectives, and academic phrases, paying close attention to word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences with frequent grammatical errors. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement and tense issues, such as 'Most of the countries... rural individuals are moving... population is fell', and missing articles or prepositions in 'to do work, job, schools, near by hospital'. Attempts at complex structures are largely absent due to the short length of the text, and punctuation is basic. To improve, the writer needs to practise forming accurate complex sentences using subordinate clauses, while eliminating basic errors in verb tenses, articles, and prepositions.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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