Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Many individuals are migrating to cities in search of better faciities and services, while rural areas are being vacant. With the population being denser in cities, many adverse effects can be observed in both urban and rural areas. Thus, I view it as a negative development.

One of the major demerits can be witnessed in rural areas, when many young individuals go to cities in search of better job opportunities and services, rural areas become deserted with no youngsters to help in future development and also agriculture is ignored. For instance, in Nepal, many younger generation are coming to major cities like Kathmandu and Pokhara in search of better education and job opportunities, leaving rural areas undeveloped. Additionally with migration, the population is decreasing at a rapid rate due to which the areas become less dense and security issues also rise.

Furthermore, impacts of migration can be observed in cities too. When many people come to a single place, the area becomes overpopulated giving rise to many issues in transportation, sanitation, and accomodation. For example, in India, the mumbai is one of the most populated cities in the world and it is also one of the most polluted cities, with overpopulation more waste are produced and with no proper management, it can lead to pollutiuon causing many diseases. In addition, overpopulation can lead to difficulty in transportation with no adequate modes of transportation.

In conclusion, people migrating from one place to another in search of better education and oppportunities is common and understandable but it leads to rural areas being undeveloped and vacant. For this issue, government should ensure that rural areas are also well-developed with adequate services so that people don't have to leave that place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your response addresses all parts of the task by clearly stating a position that the rural-to-urban migration is a negative development, supporting it with relevant arguments concerning both rural depopulation and urban overpopulation. However, while your stance is clear throughout, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the discussion regarding Nepal provides a helpful specific example for the rural perspective, but the explanation of agricultural decline and security issues remains somewhat generalised and could be extended further. To reach the next level, you need to ensure that every main idea is thoroughly explored with deep explanations and fully elaborated examples that consistently reinforce your overall thesis without over-generalising.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

Your essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, distinct body paragraphs focusing on separate issues, and a logical conclusion. You use a satisfactory range of cohesive devices to link your ideas together, such as 'Furthermore', 'For instance', and 'In addition'. However, cohesion is at times slightly mechanical or repetitive in its transitional phrasing. Referencing is generally clear, but paragraph progression could be smoother by avoiding repetitive sentence openings and ensuring that every sentence flows naturally into the next. To achieve a higher band, you should employ a wider and more flexible variety of cohesive devices while maintaining seamless transitions between complex thoughts and paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You display an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'demerits', 'overpopulated', and 'migration'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word forms that prevent a higher score. For example, you used 'faciities' instead of 'facilities', wrote 'are being vacant' rather than 'becoming vacant', and made spelling slips like 'accomodation' and 'pollutiuon'. Additionally, phrases like 'the mumbai' contain unnecessary articles. These lexical errors do not impede communication, but to reach the next band you must demonstrate greater precision and control over less common vocabulary, alongside completely accurate spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout your essay, demonstrating the ability to construct multi-clause sentences such as 'When many people come to a single place, the area becomes overpopulated giving rise to many issues...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing commas in introductory clauses, minor preposition issues, and occasional subject-verb agreement slips like 'with no proper management, it can lead to pollutiuon causing many diseases' and 'many younger generation are coming'. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication. To move up to the next band, you need to produce a higher frequency of error-free sentences using a wider variety of complex structures with tighter grammatical control.

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