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)

In many countries around the world, villaggers are moving to cities, that's why the population in the countryside is decreasing. This movement have both positive and negative developents.

To begin with, a lot of people moved to cities from villages. Many individuals believed that there are a lot of facilities in cities which are absent in the villages. People moved to cities for better lifestyle, better education syatem, better treatment and for better job opportunities. For example, many individuals in pakistan moved to big cities from countryside areas for their better future and for better job opportunities and also for better lifestyle. people believe that the cities have better opportunities as compared to villages and also there is more safety in the cities as compared to villages.

Secondly, many inhabitants believe that there are also negetive effects of these developments. People believe that when the villagers move to big cities and in housing socities, the more land is required to settle these countryside peoples. Therefore the agriculture land is converted to big towns, which, affects our climate. Moreover, in villages there is no pollution and there is no noise of vehicles. In villages, the life is very natural because there is greenery all around in the villages and the villages people are also very cooperative which individuals miss in the cities.

In my opinion, both villages and cities have benefits. I think there are a loy of facilities and opportunities in big cities, which, are very beneficial for all individuals. Moving to big cities give people better job and health opportunities which, are not available in many backward areas.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You discuss both benefits and drawbacks of rural-to-urban migration, using relevant points such as access to jobs, education and healthcare, alongside pressure on agricultural land and the loss of village greenery. The Pakistan example also helps make the discussion more concrete. However, the task asks whether this is a positive or negative development, and your conclusion says that both places have benefits without clearly deciding which overall view you hold. Several points are asserted rather than explained—for instance, the claim that cities are safer is not supported, and the environmental effects could be linked more clearly to the movement of people. State a definite overall position and develop fewer reasons with clearer explanation and examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different effects, and a concluding paragraph. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Secondly,” and “Moreover” help readers follow the discussion. This coherent paragraph structure supports the main ideas, although the progression within paragraphs is sometimes list-like: the first body paragraph moves through lifestyle, education, treatment, jobs and safety without showing how these points relate. Some linking is also mechanical, and repeated references to “people,” “cities” and “villages” make the flow less smooth. Improve cohesion by grouping related reasons, using clearer referencing, and explaining the connection between each example and the paragraph’s main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “job opportunities,” “agriculture land,” “pollution,” “greenery” and “cooperative.” However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “better,” “people” and “cities,” and some phrases are imprecise or unnatural, including “better treatment,” “countryside peoples” and “the villages people.” Spelling errors such as “villaggers,” “developents,” “syatem,” “negetive” and “socities” are noticeable and reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, “access to healthcare” is more natural than “better treatment,” while “rural residents” is clearer than “countryside peoples.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “facilities in cities which are absent in the villages” and a result clause beginning “Therefore.” Meaning is generally understandable, but frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction make the writing less controlled. Examples include “This movement have,” “Moving to big cities give people,” and “the more land is required to settle these countryside peoples.” Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly the commas before “which” in “which, affects our climate” and “which, are very beneficial.” Practise checking subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries, and build accurate complex sentences before adding more clauses.

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