Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

Migration to bigger cities in many countries all around have been very common since industrialization. People move to cities for better opportunities and for better living standards. In my firm opinion, it is a positive development as people are taking charge of their life, as they are free to make choices.

Companies often establish their head-office and work location in the cities, and mostly need more individuals to fulfill the rising demands, which is met by new people who move to the cities from countrysides. It helps them grow financially, and progress in their careers.

A buzzing city always has many thing to offer, be it recreational facilities or better schooling for children. My father moved to a city from a countryside for my education, and many people, like my father, move to a city with similiar dreams.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You give a clear opinion that rural-to-urban migration is positive and offer relevant reasons: employment and career opportunities, services such as schooling, and your father’s move for your education. However, the response addresses the task only minimally. The reasons are stated rather than explained in depth, and the personal example is brief; there is no consideration of possible disadvantages or a fuller explanation of why the benefits outweigh them. The required minimum of 250 words is not met: the response is 138 words, which leaves too little space to develop and support your position. To strengthen the response, explain each main reason with consequences or a specific example, and make the overall argument more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, understandable structure: an introduction states your view, followed by paragraphs about work and city facilities. The ideas are generally relevant and the reader can follow the movement from employment to education. However, the short response does not build a clear overall progression or develop a concluding paragraph that brings the argument together. Connections between claims are also limited; for example, the link between companies’ staffing needs and the benefits to migrants could be explained more explicitly. Use a clearer sequence of developed points, with linking phrases that show cause and result, and finish by summarising why you consider the trend positive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-appropriate vocabulary, including “industrialization,” “opportunities,” “living standards,” “recreational facilities,” and “rising demands.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main ideas, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “all around” in the opening, “work location,” and “many thing to offer.” There are also spelling errors in “similiar” and the nonstandard plural “countrysides.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim for accurate collocations and forms, such as “around the world,” “workplaces,” “many things to offer,” and “the countryside,” and use more specific vocabulary when explaining the effects of migration.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the reason clause in “People move to cities for better opportunities” and the longer sentence beginning “Companies often establish…”. Most of the meaning remains clear. However, there are some errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “A buzzing city always has many thing” needs a plural noun, and “from a countryside” uses an incorrect article pattern. The opening phrase “in many countries all around have been very common” also has an unclear grammatical structure. Practise checking subject–verb and noun agreement, article use, and the structure of longer sentences; this will make your ideas more accurate while allowing you to retain sentence variety.

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