Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-19

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 our world Today, it is agreed that people living in villages are moving to urban areas, which makes the amount of people in the countryside reduce. I Firmly believe that that this is a negative development rather than positive.

Firstly, The population of increase in the countryside reduces due to people leaving the Villages/communities to Urban areas.

Farming, for instance, in the rural area suffers a setback in production from this. Prodution of good and quality crops, fruits amd foods will reduce and lead to a total decline. Also, there will be an increase in crime rates, since there won't be much development because most people are leaving to the cities,. There will be a lot of robberies in the land, because most people will just be looking for how to survive.

Secondly, There will be a total setback in the economy, because if everyone leaves, who will be available to sort the economical problems that this people might face in the rural communities, This will eventually lead to inflation of products in the rural markets, the cost of living will be totally expensive, the people left behuind will not be able to afford, the brunt of this whole thing falls on them. For example, the cost of clothes, foods, transport becomes totally expensive.

Lastly, Children in the. rural communities might not have access to quality Education. That is to say, they have good education due to the fact that people are leaving the villages to the urban. Because if Teachers leave to the Cities, then there will be nobody available to teach this children education.

And this will affect children, because a lot of them have dreams, aspirations and we all know that children are the leaders of tomorrow.

So if they are not educated well, what is then the hope of a common man?

In conclusion, people leaving the rural areas and moving to the cities is not beneficial to the world as a whole, not even to humanity

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and the conclusion restates this view. You give relevant reasons concerning reduced agricultural production, economic difficulties for those who remain, and children’s access to education. These points address the question, but they are not developed equally. The farming and education points include some explanation, while the economic paragraph makes broad claims about inflation and affordability without clearly showing how migration would cause each outcome. The crime claim is also asserted rather than supported. To strengthen the response, explain the cause-and-effect links more precisely and add a specific example or evidence for each main point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, three body paragraphs signposted by “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Lastly,” and a conclusion. This helps readers identify your main reasons. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the first paragraph moves from farming to crime, while the second shifts from economic problems to prices without clearly connecting the steps. Some linking is mechanical, and references such as “this people” and “this children” do not clearly identify their antecedents. The final rhetorical question also interrupts the otherwise explanatory tone. Group related ideas together, use clearer cause-and-effect links, and make references explicit to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “rural communities,” “production,” “inflation,” “cost of living,” and “aspirations.” This gives you enough language to communicate your main concerns. However, the range is limited and several choices or combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “population of increase,” “sort the economical problems,” and “the brunt of this whole thing falls on them.” Spelling errors, including “Prodution,” “amd,” and “behuind,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating general terms such as “totally.” For example, describe how migration “reduces the rural workforce” or “places pressure on local services.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “because,” “if,” and “since” to explain consequences. Some sentences communicate their meaning clearly, such as the point that children may lack teachers if educators move to cities. However, control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas hard to follow. Examples include “the population of increase … reduces,” “who will be available to sort … that this people might face,” and “they have good education due to the fact that people are leaving.” There are also problems with articles, agreement, and punctuation, including sentence fragments and misplaced commas. Practise building complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, then check agreement and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.