Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-26

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 city life give many facilities which is not available in village life and therefore, a large population migrated to cities from villages. In result the population in these rural areas decreased with the time. I have a mixed opinion about this statement which i explain in paragraphs bellow.

To beggin with, cities have more facilties as comperitively rural areas and people migrated to these cities to enjoy these facilities. For example, the educational system is very good in cities like mostly in rural areas universities are not available then the students went to cities to continue their study. Secondly, cities have more oppertunities for earning money. Many people lived in rural area are very poor and if they go to cities it is usefull for them to earn their living. Furthermore, when people went to cities and they do buissness it is also helpfull for economy of country.

On the other hand, by increasing the population in cities also have negative effects on country and it have more negative effcts on populated countries by increasing the population in cities. We see that the over populated cities face the problem of pollution. In addition, if a large amount of population go to cities then villages face the problem of lack of labour like in our city which is highly depend on their crops and if ithey have no labour then it have negatives effects on economy. Moreover, a populated cities also have other problems like traffic jams.

To conclude, people are increased in cities to get facilities. I would say that government may provide all facilties in rural areas and take an action to controll the population in cities. Managing the over populated cities are too much difficult.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the development and give a clear mixed view, supported by relevant points about education, employment, urban pollution, rural labour shortages and traffic. The examples about students moving to cities and villages depending on crop workers help connect your ideas to the question. However, the position is not fully resolved: the conclusion recommends government action but does not clearly state whether the overall development is positive or negative. Some points also need fuller explanation, particularly how rural labour shortages affect the economy and why the benefits of city migration outweigh—or do not outweigh—its costs. State your overall judgement directly and develop the strongest reasons with specific consequences.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting effects, and a conclusion. Paragraphs generally focus on relevant themes, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” make the direction easy to follow. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, however, and several links between ideas are unclear. For example, “by increasing the population in cities also have negative effects” has no clear subject, while the repeated references to population growth make the second body paragraph feel repetitive. The conclusion also introduces government action without developing it earlier. Use clearer referencing and connect each example explicitly to the point it supports, rather than relying mainly on transition phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “educational system,” “opportunities for earning money,” “pollution,” “lack of labour,” and “traffic jams.” Some attempts at more specific language are useful, but word choice, collocation and spelling errors are noticeable and occasionally make the reader pause. Examples include “more facilities as comparatively rural areas,” “do business it is also helpful for economy,” and “a populated cities.” There are also repeated basic terms such as “cities,” “population” and “facilities,” which limits flexibility. Build a more accurate range of collocations for migration and its effects, and check spelling carefully; for instance, use “compared with,” “contribute to the economy,” and “overpopulated cities.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, using clauses with “because,” “if,” and “when,” as well as linking structures such as “Furthermore” and “In addition.” This gives the response some variety, and the main message is generally understandable. However, some sentence structures and verb forms are inaccurate, including “The city life give,” “the students went to cities,” and “it is also helpful for economy.” Agreement and sentence construction also cause problems in “by increasing the population in cities also have negative effects,” and the final sentence of the second body paragraph is difficult to follow. Practise forming complete clauses with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, articles and tense consistency. More accurate complex sentences would make your reasoning easier to follow.

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