Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-27

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, THE TRANSPORTATION FROM COUNTRYSIDE TO CITIES HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY INCREASING. A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAS TRAVELLING FROM RURAL AREA TO URBAN AREA TO GET BETTER LIFE, AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES. ACCORDING TO ME, THIS CHANGES HAVE BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE DEVELOPMENT ON COUNTRY AND AS WELL AS IN PEOPLE LIVES.

IN RECENT YEARS, PEOPLE IN LARGE NUMBER ARE MOVING TO CITIES FOR MANY REASONS. THE FIRST REASON IS BETTER OPPORTUNITIES. THE RURAL AREAS HAVE LESS OPPORTUNITIES COMAPRE TO CITIES RELEATED TO EDUCATION AND CARRIER. PEOPLE GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR CARRIER. ALSO, THEY GET MORE INCOME SOURCES, WHICH HELP THEM TO IMPROVE THEIR FINANCIAL CONDITION. THE SECOND REASON IS BETTER EDUCATION. MANY PEOPLE ARE TRANSPORTING TO CITIES BECAUSE OF BETTER EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN. THEY MAY BELIEVE THAT SCHOOLS IN CITIES PROVIDE A BETTER EDUCTION TO THEIR CHILDREN AND HELP CHILDREN TO BUILD GOOD CARREIR IN THEIR LIFE. THE OTHER REASON IS BETTER HEALTH. CITIES HAVE MORE NUMBER OF HOSPITALS AND BETTER FACILITIES. PEOPLE CAN ACCESS THESE FACILITIES AT ANY TIME. IN ADDITION, ESPECIALLY, YOUNG PEOPLE ALWAYS PERFER LATE NIGHT PARTY CULTURE AND CLUB LIFE, WHICH MAY BE DIFFICULT IN RURAL AREAS. SO, CITIES HELP THEM TO ENJOY THEIR LIFE WITH ALL FREEDOM.

HOWEVER, PEOPLE OFTEN FACE PROBLEMS DUE TO THIS CHANGES. THE MAIN PROBLEM IS ACCOMODATION. MANY PEOPLE DOES NOT GET ENOUGH SPACE FOR THEIR ACCOMODATION. PEOPLE OFTEN STAY ON WALKWAY DUE TO SHORTEST OF LIVING SPACE, WHICH PUT THEIR LIVES IN DANGER. IN ADDITION, THE LARGE NUMBER OF POPULATION CREATE MORE POLLUTION, ESPECIALLY AIR POLLUTION. ALSO, LOCAL PEOPLE OFTEN FACE PROBLEMS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT.

TO CONCLUDE, ALTHOUGH, PEOPLE FACE PROBLEMS DUE TO THIS TRANSFORMATION, WITH THE PROPER PLANNING GOVERMENT CAN REDUCE THESE PROBLEMS. IN ADDITON, THEY CAN IMPROVE FACILITIES IN COUNTRYSIDE TO STOP PEOPLE MOVING TO CITIES.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both sides of the development and give a clear overall view: rural-to-urban movement brings benefits, but also creates problems that can be reduced through planning and better rural services. Relevant reasons include access to education, employment, healthcare and entertainment, alongside housing shortages and pollution. This covers the task, but the positive and negative points are not equally developed. For example, the claims about better education and healthcare are stated generally, without a specific illustration or explanation of how migration affects rural communities. The final suggestion to improve countryside facilities is relevant but could be linked more clearly to the effects discussed. Develop fewer points in greater depth and make your judgement about whether the change is ultimately positive or negative more explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph explaining reasons for moving, a paragraph on problems, and a conclusion. The sequence within the main paragraphs is generally easy to follow, and signposts such as “The first reason,” “However,” and “To conclude” help readers recognise the stages of the argument. This is a coherent arrangement, with some features of stronger progression, but linking is sometimes mechanical: several points are introduced through repeated “Also” or “In addition.” The phrase “In addition, especially” is awkward, and “this changes” does not clearly refer back to a specific idea. Use a wider range of links and clearer referencing, and connect each example to the paragraph’s main point rather than presenting a list of reasons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “rural areas,” “opportunities,” “accommodation,” “public transport” and “air pollution.” However, the range is limited by repeated wording such as “better” and “opportunities,” and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts less natural. For example, “transportation from countryside to cities” is not the usual way to describe people relocating; “migration from rural areas to cities” is more precise. “People are transporting” and “shortest of living space” also obscure the intended meaning. Spelling errors such as “comapre,” “educt ion” and “goverment” further affect accuracy. Build a bank of precise topic vocabulary and check spelling and collocations during revision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “income sources, which help them…” and a concession in “although people face problems…”. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the reader work to understand the point. Examples include “A large number of people has travelling,” “Many people does not get,” and “the large number of population create.” The opening sentence also uses an unsuitable structure for describing a trend. Practise forming accurate subject–verb combinations and past or present continuous forms, and check each sentence for a clear subject and verb. More reliable control of these patterns would make your varied sentence attempts easier to follow.

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