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)

Majority of the people from around the world are moving from rural areas to cities and we can see a significant fall in the countryside population. In my point of view it accounts for both positive and negative development.

Firstly, I would like to opine that when the locals migrate from their rural homes they moved due to a certain reasons that could be for the essential purposes like studying, working or getting experiences. This moment can lie to a better increment to their lives. However those kind of opportunities were not yet established in thier area, in order to get some kind of need they had to make a strong move to cities.For instance international students often move to new countries or cities to seek higher quality of studies which they get lack in their area.

Moving on, where there is a drastic fall in the population people might face some serious challenges like low development in countryside because most of the youth like learners and the beginners have already moved to their desired destination so they might face problems in that. Whereas in the city when they migrate they will go through lot of difficulties in order to survive, Increase in population can also be a cons additionally there will be lack of facilities to all the majority who are already been staying there since the start.

To sum it up, a coin has two sides to be considered. Neverthless there is an guarantee of benifits to the people who migrate where as the city population might need to face some of the consequences in order to balance the proportion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the question by presenting both benefits and drawbacks of rural-to-urban migration, and your examples of seeking education and work are relevant. However, the task asks you to decide whether this is positive or negative, while your position—“both positive and negative”—does not establish which side you consider stronger. Several points are also only briefly stated: for example, you mention that rural areas may develop less, but do not explain the consequences or support this with a specific example. The discussion of city pressures is relevant, though “lack of facilities” could be explained more precisely. State a clear overall judgement and develop each main reason with a cause, consequence, and concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion, with a generally understandable movement from reasons for migration to its possible effects. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “Moving on,” and “To sum it up” help signal stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first body paragraph shifts from reasons for moving to an unclear claim about “a better increment,” then to international students. In the second, the contrast between rural and city challenges is not clearly organised. Some connections, including “Whereas,” do not form a clear contrast, and the conclusion repeats the two-sided idea rather than resolving the argument. Group related points and use clearer links between cause and effect.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt topic-related vocabulary, including “migrate,” “drastic fall,” “development,” and “consequences,” and these choices show an effort to discuss the issue beyond very basic terms. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate or unnatural expressions make ideas harder to understand. Examples include “a better increment to their lives,” “what they get lack in their area,” and “a cons”; these do not express the intended meanings naturally. Spelling errors such as “thier,” “Neverthless,” and “benifits” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of precise phrases for education, employment, rural services, and urban pressure, and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “when,” “because,” and “where,” but control is inconsistent. Errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “when the locals migrate … they moved” shifts tense, while “they moved due to a certain reasons” has problems with agreement and number. The sentence beginning “Whereas in the city” is not a complete, well-connected contrast, and “there is an guarantee” shows article and agreement errors. Punctuation also needs attention, particularly the missing space after “cities.” and the comma splice in “Increase in population can also be a cons additionally…”. Practise accurate clause construction and review tense, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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