Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-24

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 this developing world, people work hard to achieve promotion because they get high salary. Nowadays, people are moving rural to cities just because of new opportunity for there work and children education. In my view of point it also had good impact on people life's and also negative impact on rural are. I partially agree with both statements.

On the one hand, people are moving in big cities this days because find new job opportunity, for children higher education and for business. Firstly, rural are do not have more chance to get higher salary jobs. Moreover, they want to live high standard life style so people and it also help to save more money for future requirements. Secondly, children have to gain some practical knowledge or pursue there master courses so it help children to get highest paid job and also help countries to grow. Thirdly, for business, people have to set up there small or big business so they prefer cities. For example, cities population are higher than village so shops owner have more chance to grow there business in cities not in countryside area. Furthermore, it beneficial for both individuals and countries economy to grow.

On the other hand, there are also some drawbacks if people are continuously moving in cities. Firstly, village are not developing rapidly because of people give there ideas and more time to cities. Secondly, rural areas do not have more business scope. In addition, they also have to go other cities for higher education. For example, big populations areas get benefits earlier than lowest population.

To sum up, it is noticeably that people are moving in cities, it has more benefits for there persons and educational, while, also some of disadvantages of rural side not growing rapidly and enough facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address the question and give a balanced position, stating that rural-to-urban migration has both positive and negative effects. The body paragraphs include relevant reasons: access to jobs, education and business opportunities, alongside the risk that villages develop more slowly. These points support your response, but the task asks whether this is a positive or negative development, and your conclusion does not clearly weigh the two sides or state which overall view you hold. Some ideas are also less fully explained: for example, the claim that migration helps countries grow is asserted rather than linked to a clear outcome, while the rural-development concern would benefit from a specific consequence or example. Make your overall judgement explicit and develop the strongest reasons with clearer explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a concluding summary. Sequencing within the first body paragraph is also signposted with “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Thirdly,” which helps readers follow the points. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. For instance, “Moreover, they want to live high standard life style so people and it also help to save more money” combines several ideas without showing their relationship. The final sentence also joins the benefits and drawbacks awkwardly. Use fewer formulaic transitions, make each paragraph develop one central point, and use clear referencing and linking phrases to show cause and effect.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “higher education,” “business,” “salary,” and “rural areas,” and you attempt phrases such as “practical knowledge” and “population.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main ideas, but word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “moving rural to cities,” “high standard life style,” “highest paid job,” and “lowest population.” There are also repeated uses of “people,” “cities,” and “help.” Build a more precise range of topic vocabulary and learn common word partnerships, such as “move from rural areas to cities” and “access better-paid employment.” Check spelling and word forms, including “their” rather than “there.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “so,” and “if.” This allows you to express reasons and contrast, and the overall message is generally understandable. However, there are some recurring errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and verb forms. For example, “rural are do not have” lacks a correctly formed subject and verb, while “it also help” has incorrect agreement. In “people are moving in big cities this days because find new job opportunity,” the clause structure and verb pattern are incomplete. Work on building complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check singular/plural agreement and articles. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas easier to follow.

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