Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-17

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 shifting to the rural population in cities create a negative development overall because it damage the agricultural production and leave the burdens the to the old generations , but it offers individual benfits of people. In this essay we discuss the negative effect and the potential benfits of shifting rural to urban areas of the cities.

Overall the shifting most have the negative effect. The moving form the rural to urban areas produce labour shortage in the agriculture areas of the village . As the young people leave the countryside it causes the shortage of the works in the farms . Old people are not enough to do the all farms work. One more thing when the younger leaves the countryside. That also decline the rural communities, means the less demand for the local shops , schools and clinics. important serivces are closed that create diffcuilties for the old generation.

for example, In the many developing. nations , where people leave countryside and leave behind the old people to manage the large farms of land . which cause lower crop growth in the country . because of that coeuntries should reply more money for imports .

But shifting to the cities or developing areas of the country Can helps the individuals. Cities can provide the higher income-jobs , best health care , fast mode of transports and many more things. a larger urban workforce fuels the industrials output, overall it contribute the economic production of the countries. but living in the cities have disadvantages too. example, people are lived in the crowed areas of the cities.

In conclusion, shifting to the cities have produced negative effect on the argiculture side for the country. The goverment should introduce more or schemes to the people for work in the countryside areas. That help the people to getting interest in the rural areas.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You give a clear overall judgement that rural-to-urban migration is negative, while acknowledging benefits for individuals. The discussion of agricultural labour shortages and declining access to local services is relevant, and the example of reduced crop production supports your position. You also address the counterargument by mentioning urban jobs, healthcare and transport. However, these benefits are listed rather than explained, and the example about developing nations is broad and not tied to a specific case. The conclusion recommends rural employment schemes, but does not explain how these would address the problems identified. Develop each main point with a clearer explanation or a concrete example, and keep the negative overall position explicit throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on rural disadvantages, a paragraph on urban benefits, and a conclusion. This makes the main line of argument understandable. Some linking is effective, such as moving from young people leaving to shortages on farms and then to the decline of local services. However, connections are sometimes mechanical or unclear: “One more thing” and “But” do not always show the precise relationship between ideas, while “for example” introduces a broad claim without a clearly developed illustration. Sentence fragments such as “which cause lower crop growth” also interrupt the flow. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “agricultural production,” “labour shortage,” “local shops,” “health care” and “imports,” so the reader can follow the subject. There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “urban workforce” and “industrial output.” However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “benfits,” “serivces,” “diffcuilties” and “argiculture.” Some combinations are unnatural or unclear, such as “shifting to the rural population in cities,” “the burdens the to the old generations” and “reply more money for imports.” Build accuracy by learning common collocations for migration, farming and public services, and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise phrasing would make your ideas easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a cause-and-effect structure in “As the young people leave the countryside it causes the shortage…” and a contrast between rural and urban outcomes. This shows some range, but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “The shifting … create,” “it damage,” and “Cities can provide … and … fuels.” Articles, plurals and sentence construction are also problematic in phrases such as “do the all farms work” and “people are lived in the crowed areas.” The fragment beginning “which cause lower crop growth” is another example of an incomplete structure. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and complete clauses, then proofread each sentence for articles and verb forms.

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