Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-06

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)

Numerous countries around the globe are facing a significant problem that is the migration of people from developing areas to big cities , while the population of countryside is decreasing rapidly. Although rural-to-urban migration can provide people with better employment opportunities, I believe its negative effects on rural communities and cities are more significant.

The moving of inhabbitants from backward areas to developed cities also present some notable positive outcomes. Firstly, migration to urban areas could provide better employment opportunities that might be lacks in rural areas. Similarly, the availability of healthcare facilities in big cities are far modern then villages and countrysides . Moreover, eduaction can also be a other factor that cause migration to cities. For example, from our village many students including me are living lahore to pursue higher education from universities and build better career their. Therefore , it's some kind positive development to moving urban areas.

On the other hand, moving to big cities also causes many conquences . Number of laberor who might move to cities and started working in differnet factories could cause shoratge of workers in agriculture sector, rural areas lose young workers because of this. Furthermore, migration to big cities also made the cities overcrowded , rents increases also availability of houses fall because of rapidly increases of demand. Moreover, traffic and public services become pressured that also present negative effects of cities residnets . So , moving to big cities could provide better opportunities but their long term negative effects might be more then positivitey.

In conclusion, although their some benefits of moving to urban areas for the sack of employmnet, helathcare and education , the disadvantages could be more significant.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you acknowledge benefits such as employment, healthcare and education, but argue that the negative effects are greater. You address both sides and give a relevant personal example about students from your village moving to Lahore for university. The discussion of labour shortages in agriculture and pressure on city housing and services also responds directly to the question. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, you mention that rural areas lose young workers, but could explain the consequences for food production or local economies. The conclusion restates your view but adds little synthesis. Develop the cause-and-effect reasoning and support each main point with a specific explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction stating your view, separate paragraphs for benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion. This makes the argument easy to follow. You also use signposting such as “Firstly,” “Moreover,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion.” At times, however, these connectors feel mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. The sentence beginning “Therefore” does not clearly follow from the example, while “So” introduces a broad summary rather than a precise consequence. Some references, such as “their long term negative effects,” are also unclear. Use fewer formulaic transitions and make the relationship between each claim and its explanation explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “migration,” “employment opportunities,” “overcrowded,” and “availability of houses,” and you attempt to express a range of ideas. However, noticeable spelling, word-form and collocation errors sometimes make the wording difficult to understand, as in “inhabbitants,” “eduaction,” “conquences,” and “shortage of workers.” Some phrases are unnatural or imprecise, such as “backward areas,” “far modern,” and “some kind positive development.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations rather than more elaborate wording. Proofread spelling and check whether nouns, verbs and adjectives fit the intended meaning; this will make your argument clearer and more fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concession in the introduction (“Although rural-to-urban migration can provide…”) and a conditional structure (“who might move to cities…”). Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “migration … also present” and “availability … are,” article and determiner problems in “could be a other factor,” and faulty verb forms in “students … are living Lahore” and “rents increases.” Sentence boundaries and comma spacing also need attention. Practise checking agreement, articles and verb patterns, especially in longer sentences. More accurate control of these structures would make your ideas easier to read.

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