Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-11

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 many countries around the world people from rural areas are moving to cities for work or study purposes which is leading to decreased population in the countryside while a siginficant increase in population in the cities. People are moving in the cities because they don't have much life neccessaties in those areas many people can't get education from such areas because they lack schools colleges and universities. There are not many job opputunites for them so they move to city side to get jobs and to study

I think it's not a positive devolopment because it is encaouraging more people to move from their hometowns and move to the developed cities which are already overpopulated. If i give you my example in my university 80% of my classmates were from out of the town as their hometown doesn't have universities where they can get higher education which leads them to move here far from their families struggling with daily chores adn study at the same time. As i know living in a hostel is not so easy and trying to adjust in a completely strange town withthin strange people is not an easy task for many people

On occasions like Eid or festivals like that we can easily estimate that how many people are away from their families just because their hometown doesn't have much facilities to offer. During Eid days my city Lahore, it get's completely calm and roads get empty because all the people from other towns get back to their own cities to meet their families and enjoy holidays with them. so i think government should take a step and provide the basic neccessaties in every other cities and develop every other area side by side so people get benefited equally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you consider rural-to-urban migration negative, and you address both why people move and what you believe should be done. The examples about classmates leaving home for university and Lahore becoming quieter during Eid make the response relevant and personal. However, some points are more fully explained than others. The lack of schools and jobs is listed, but the wider effects of rural depopulation—such as reduced local services or pressure on city infrastructure—are not developed. The recommendation that government provide basic facilities is relevant, but could be linked more explicitly to how it would reduce migration. Extending these ideas with clear cause-and-effect explanation would make the argument more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces the causes of migration, states your view, gives personal examples, and ends with a recommendation. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “because” and “so” show relationships between ideas. At times, however, the progression within paragraphs is less controlled. The opening combines several points in a long sequence, while the second paragraph moves from overcrowding to university life without a clear transition explaining how the example supports the broader argument. Some links, including repeated uses of “so” and “because,” feel mechanical. Use clearer topic sentences and vary linking expressions, while making each example’s connection to your main claim explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate your main ideas, including “overpopulated,” “higher education,” “hostel,” and “basic necessities.” The personal examples also help make the language specific. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause, as in “siginficant,” “neccessaties,” “opputunites,” and “devolopment.” Several expressions are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “move in the cities,” “city side,” and “every other area side by side.” Aim for accurate collocations and more precise phrasing, for example “move to cities,” “urban areas,” and “develop rural regions alongside cities.” Proofreading spelling would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main message remains understandable. For example, you use a reason clause in “because they lack schools” and a conditional structure in “If I give you my example.” Some sentences, however, contain several clauses joined without clear punctuation, particularly in the opening paragraph, which makes the relationships between ideas harder to follow. There are also errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction, such as “my city Lahore, it get’s completely calm” and “how many people are away … just because their hometown doesn’t have.” Break long sentences into clearer units, check subject–verb agreement and article use, and review punctuation around introductory phrases and clauses.

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