Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-14

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)

The recent urban migration has had major effects on both social and economic factors. The problem affects both developed and developing countries. I believe that negative results are more prominent than positive developments.

Movement of people from rural to urban areas has been happening over the years. The introduction of industries in cities, made residents to shift in search of work. Majority of able bodied men had to 'flood' the townships in the hope of a better life. The rural homes were left for the elderly. in addition, lack of infrastructure and develpoment of remote places made the youth to elope to big cities.

The fresh ideas to improve the land led to poor living conditions in rural areas. The government does not help either as there are less funds allocated to develop the rural areas. While the urban migration had positive impact which was short lived. Afterwards, overpopulation began to emerge which made an increase in demand of accomodation. Furthermore, those who moved do not want to go back to poverty. Sanitation became a problem as well. A hike of both air and water pollution has been cited among many other reasons by critics.

Countryside is now being valued due to its natural settings. Not everything that glisters is cold, very soon there will be a reverse movement. The rural lands have matured and rivitalised because of no production. I believe Africa has the highest urban movement and it had more negative effects.

In conclusion, there has been positive and negative effects on movement of people from rural to urban areas. Population increase being one the negative product which made the world to realise the imbalance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You take a clear overall position in the introduction, stating that negative results are more prominent, and you identify relevant consequences such as overcrowding, housing demand, and pollution. However, the response only partially develops the comparison requested: the positive effects are mentioned briefly, for example, “the urban migration had positive impact,” but the benefit is not explained or illustrated. Several claims are also unclear or unsupported, including the suggestion that rural land has “matured and rivitalised because of no production.” The conclusion repeats that there are positive and negative effects without firmly restating why you judge the development mainly negative. Develop two or three relevant reasons with clear explanations and examples, and maintain your position consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, and the paragraphs broadly group background, consequences, and a final view. However, the overall progression is difficult to follow because ideas sometimes appear without a clear link. For instance, “The fresh ideas to improve the land led to poor living conditions” does not clearly connect to the following point about government funding. Linking phrases such as “in addition,” “furthermore,” and “in conclusion” help signal movement, but some transitions are mechanical or do not clarify the relationship between claims. The final paragraph also introduces a new prediction of “reverse movement” rather than drawing together the main reasons. Organise each body paragraph around one central point and use explicit cause-and-effect links.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “urban migration,” “infrastructure,” “overpopulation,” and “sanitation,” which helps communicate the subject. There are also some less successful choices and collocations that make meaning unclear: “the youth to elope to big cities,” “the rural lands have matured,” and “a hike of both air and water pollution.” Spelling errors such as “develpoment,” “accomodation,” and “rivitalised” are noticeable, while “glisters is cold” appears to be an inaccurate version of a familiar expression. These issues fit a limited but generally adequate range, with errors that can sometimes distract the reader. Prefer precise, natural phrases such as “young people migrate,” “rural areas have been revitalised,” and “a rise in air and water pollution.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and attempts at more complex structures, including “While the urban migration had positive impact which was short lived.” However, several sentence patterns are faulty or incomplete, and errors sometimes make the intended relationship difficult to understand. For example, “The introduction of industries in cities, made residents to shift” has an unnecessary comma and an incorrect verb pattern; “While the urban migration had positive impact…” is a dependent clause without a complete main clause. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, as in “Population increase being one the negative product.” Capitalisation after a full stop is inconsistent. Practise complete clause structures and check articles, verb patterns, and punctuation when editing.

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