Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-08

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)

Nowadays, the provincial people migrated to big cities, and the population in rural areas decraeses day by day. I think it's good people are traveling for their future and want a good lifestyle but it also have a negative impact as well. I'll explain it by giving two different conditons below.

To initiate with, individuals are traveling towards metropolitan cities to get higher education and for better job opportunities as well. So, they can get experienced and prepare themselves for the upcoming future endeavours. According to my opinion it is good that people try to be a financially independent by getting good education and doing good jobs. For example, my cousin travel from village to metropolitan city lahore for higher education. After completing his studies he got placement there in the well known company and now he is earning a handsome amount. He not only change his own lifestyle but also his family lives a healthy lifestyle.

In contrast, if a large number of people leave villages then ultimately rural life becomes extinct in near future. Big cities are expanding day by day due to overpopulation. Fertile land converted into big housing scheme, and it will cause the climate change and shortage of eating goods in the country. For instance, Pakistan facing shortage of wheat every year only because rural people now doing their busniesses in the big cities and it effects the production of local food.

To conclude, people shoud definitely travel in big cities but for good education and job opportunities and should try to comeback in the provincial areas and start doing agriculture as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the development and give a clear overall view: migration can improve people’s prospects, but rural depopulation can harm food production and the countryside. The example of your cousin supports the benefits of moving, while the discussion of farmland and wheat shortages is relevant to the negative effects. However, the position is not fully consistent: the introduction calls migration “good” while also presenting a negative impact, and the conclusion recommends returning to rural areas without clearly stating whether the overall development is positive or negative. Some claims, especially the link between migration and Pakistan’s wheat shortages, need clearer explanation or support. State your overall judgement directly and develop the less-supported points further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on benefits, a contrasting paragraph on drawbacks, and a conclusion. Signposts such as “To initiate with,” “In contrast,” and “To conclude” help readers follow the main stages. The examples are generally placed alongside the ideas they illustrate. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and the introduction’s promise to explain “two different conditions” is vague. Some links between claims are abrupt—for example, the move from shrinking rural populations to climate change and food shortages needs an explicit explanation. The conclusion also introduces a recommendation to return to rural areas rather than clearly synthesising the argument. Use more precise referencing and connect cause and effect step by step.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of topic vocabulary, including “higher education,” “job opportunities,” “metropolitan cities,” “fertile land,” and “overpopulation.” These choices make the main ideas understandable, and phrases such as “financially independent” and “housing scheme” show attempts to express more specific concepts. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, including “provincial people,” “traveling towards” for migration, and “shortage of eating goods.” Spelling errors such as “decraeses,” “conditons,” and “busniesses” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise, natural expressions such as “rural residents,” “move to cities,” and “food shortages,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including conditional and cause-and-effect structures, as in “if a large number of people leave villages then…” and “After completing his studies he got placement there…”. The overall meaning is usually clear, but errors occur in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “it also have a negative impact” should use a verb agreeing with “it,” while “my cousin travel” needs a past-tense form to match the story. “Fertile land converted” is missing an auxiliary verb, and “Pakistan facing shortage” also needs one. Some long sentences combine several claims without clear grammatical links. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, and complete clauses, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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