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)

Nowadays rural population is now moving into the cites for more opportunities, better education, and healthcare, which can be a positive devlopment for moving population but there are definitely certain drawbacks of decreasing population in the countryside. In my opinion, rural people moving to cities is a positive development although there might be some negative outcomes too.

Foremost, the people in rural areas remained left out when it comes to the modern facilities and infrastructure of the cities for most of the time and they had to depend on the locally generated incomes for expenses of their households. Therefore, the people these days tends to move to the metropolises for job opportunities, quality education, and for better future. For instance, in countries such as India and Pakistan , the youngsters from less developed areas often move abroad in search of better empolyment and for the good lifestyle. Moreover, youngsters recognizing the need of changes and than they take actions in that direction is a good development for their secure future.

Furthermore, rural people, if they are uneducated and they move into the cities can also act as workforce in building the economy of those cities too , which is necessary for urban population as well. Research has shown that the workforce required in building vast urban infrastructures is mostly from rural areas of the countries , who migrated to big cities in search of employment. Although rural population migrating in the cities do help in city-building, we can't ignore the fact that emptying villages can affect our cultures as we know that the villages are the threshold of cultures and one can experience most authentic cultures only in the villages.

In conclusion, people do move to the big cities in search of better lifestyles and employment rates and the youngsters are doing the same and are working hard for that but we should also preserve our rural population too in order to protect and promote our culture.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you consider rural-to-urban migration positive, while acknowledging that village cultures may be harmed. You give relevant reasons, including access to jobs, education and healthcare, and the contribution of migrants to urban construction. However, the response only partly develops the question’s wider consequences. The claim that migration is positive is supported mainly through individual opportunity, while the negative effect on rural communities is mentioned briefly and not explained in depth. The example about young people from India and Pakistan moving abroad also shifts away from the specific issue of moving from rural areas to cities. Develop both sides with more precise examples and explain why your overall judgement outweighs the drawbacks.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas generally follow a sensible order. Linking expressions such as “Therefore,” “Furthermore” and “In conclusion” help signal stages in the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first body paragraph moves from limited rural facilities to migration abroad, then to young people taking action, without fully connecting these points. The second paragraph combines migrants’ contribution to city-building with the loss of village culture, but the contrast could be organised more clearly. Some transitions feel mechanical, and references such as “they” and “that direction” are not always precise. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each example directly to the point it supports.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of relevant vocabulary, including “infrastructure,” “metropolises,” “employment,” “workforce” and “authentic cultures,” which helps communicate the topic. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “secure future” and “urban infrastructures.” However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “cites” for “cities,” “devlopment,” “empolyment,” and “locally generated incomes” are examples. Some combinations are unnatural or imprecise, including “the threshold of cultures” and “employment rates” where you appear to mean employment opportunities. Aim for accurate collocations and avoid using elevated expressions unless their meaning is clear. Proofreading spelling and choosing more natural phrases would make the argument easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “although” and “when,” and the overall meaning is usually understandable. However, errors occur often enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to process. For example, “the people these days tends to move” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “Moreover, youngsters recognizing the need of changes and than they take actions” is not a complete, well-formed sentence. There are also problems with articles, plurals and sentence boundaries, as in “in the cities” and the long opening sentence joined by “but.” Work on building complete clauses, checking agreement and using punctuation to separate connected ideas. More accurate control of these patterns would improve clarity.

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