Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-16

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 nation around the world, rural people are moving to urban places, so the population in the countryside is decreasing.in my opinion, i believe this is a negative development

on the one hand, relocating to the city bring about self development and good quality of life. This is beneficial to individuals that want to pursue their career to the higher level and also experience good quality of life, numerous employement opportunies and good health care with basic facilities. they tends to met people of different social class in some gatherings, which can be life changing to them.They experience quality health. In addition, rural-to-urban migration provides cheap labour for industries, thereby improving their overall productivity.

on the other hand, overpopulating the urban areas can lead to overcrowding/overpopulation causing lack of jobs in the city, car traffic, pedestrians traffic, congestion of houses and increase in rent, lack of houses and some life threatening diseses that bring overcrowding for instance, suffocation, respiratory diseases, asthma , chocking and even death.in addition, their will be lack of workers in the rural area, making the crops and agricultural produce to suffer, leading to poor soil quality, lonliness in the rural areas.

in conclusion although moving to the city brings about development and quality education,i strongly believe its a negative development,because those in the city suffer overpopulation,congestions and lack of employment .governments can implement infrastructure, good roads, electricity, good water supply, good houses, good schools and condusive environment for young children who are still in developing.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that rural-to-urban migration is negative, and you include relevant points about city overcrowding and the loss of agricultural workers. You also acknowledge benefits such as career opportunities and healthcare, which helps address both sides of the issue. However, several points are listed rather than explained: for example, the link between migration and “poor soil quality” is unclear, and the health effects of overcrowding need more accurate explanation. Your conclusion offers possible government measures, but these are not developed. The response contains 235 words, so it is 15 words below the required minimum; this limits how fully you can explain and support your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two contrasting body paragraphs and a conclusion. “On the one hand” and “on the other hand” signal the change in viewpoint, and the reader can generally follow your main argument. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven: the first body paragraph moves from career development to healthcare, social gatherings and industrial labour without clearly connecting these points. The second paragraph becomes a long list of consequences, and several ideas run together. Use separate sentences to explain each main point, and add clearer links showing how migration causes the effects you describe. Check paragraph breaks and punctuation so the organisation is easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “overcrowding,” “agricultural produce,” “productivity” and “infrastructure.” These terms show an attempt to discuss the social and economic effects of migration. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, such as “pedestrians traffic,” “congestion of houses” and “quality health.” Spelling errors, including “employement,” “opportunies,” “diseses” and “lonliness,” also make the writing less clear and weaken control of vocabulary. Aim to use precise phrases and check spelling carefully. Replacing lists with a smaller number of accurately expressed effects would make your vocabulary more effective.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a clause beginning “although” and a result structure with “thereby improving their overall productivity.” However, errors are frequent, and some sentences are difficult to process. Examples include “rural people are moving … is decreasing.in my opinion,” “relocating to the city bring,” and “they tends to met,” which show problems with sentence boundaries, subject–verb agreement and verb forms. There are also errors with articles, plurals and punctuation, such as “in many nation” and the run-on conclusion. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and verb, correct agreement, and a full stop or comma where needed.

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