Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-07

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 almost every country around the world, people from rural area are choosing to move in cities in a hope for getting a job. Which is making the cities more crowded and leaving the countryside with less people. In my opinion, this can be a very disavantageous situation for both, cities and countryside. If this continuous, the countryside will be left with very few people, which can lead to shortage of labour there. And as the countryside is the major producer of food in most of the countries, this will create shortage of food.

On one hand, people leaving countryside can be beneficial to some extent. Such as, less people means less population, which will directly lead to decrease in pollution. Less people, less carbon emission, less globalc warming. While moving to a city and getting a job has its own benefits. In addition, it provides organisations to get labours at a cheap rate, which benefits the company. However, it also increases population of the city, where sometimes not sufficient housing is availabe and this leads to a rise of slum areas.

On the other hand, people leaving countryside in large amount will create lack of population, after which the things which are required to be done in the countryside can not be done, and for fullfiling the requirements of that area no one will come. Furthermore, it will lead to the shortage of farmers, which is directlly proportional to the shortage of food.

In conclusion, seeking job in cities is not the problem, but abondoning your resposibilities are. It will create a society where, people will suffer from the shortage of food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you view rural-to-urban migration as negative overall, especially because it may reduce the agricultural workforce and threaten food supplies. You also acknowledge possible benefits, such as lower pollution in rural areas and employment opportunities, so the response addresses both sides of the issue. However, several points remain general or are not fully explained. For example, the claim that fewer rural residents will reduce pollution is not clearly connected to the wider effects of migration, and the benefits to companies are mentioned without showing how they affect your overall judgement. Develop fewer points with specific explanation or an example, and make the conclusion reflect the balance of your discussion more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs signposted by “On one hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. This helps the reader follow the broad contrast between possible benefits and disadvantages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first body paragraph moves from pollution to employment and then housing, without explaining how these ideas relate. Some linking is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “less people” and “Furthermore.” The opening fragment, “Which is making the cities more crowded,” interrupts the flow from the preceding sentence. Group related points together, use clearer links between cause and effect, and ensure each paragraph develops one main idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “population,” “carbon emission,” “slum areas,” “shortage of farmers,” and “food.” These choices make your main concerns understandable, and phrases such as “directly proportional” show an attempt to express relationships precisely. However, the range is limited and some wording is inaccurate or unnatural, which occasionally makes the meaning less clear. Examples include “people from rural area,” “in a hope for getting a job,” and “abondoning your resposibilities.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “disavantageous,” “availabe,” and “directlly.” Build a more accurate range of collocations for migration, employment, and agriculture, and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional and relative clauses, as in “If this continuous, the countryside will be left with very few people.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect fluency. The opening “Which is making…” is a sentence fragment, while “If this continuous” has an incorrect verb form. Other examples include “less people means,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “the things which are required to be done … can not be done,” which is awkwardly constructed. Articles and plurals also need attention, as in “from rural area.” Practise complete sentence construction, agreement, and verb forms, then proofread for punctuation and sentence boundaries.

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