Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-30
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)
It is firmly believed that in several nations around the world, rural individuals are moving to urban areas meanwhile, masses in the villages are reducing.
I consider it as a negative development not a positive.
To demonstrate with, an immense amount of individuals are shifting in the main cities like Lahore, Islamabad and vise versa. It is a bad effect for masses living in urban areas because in this way population will proliferate. Everyone will purchase the cars, motorbikes or even trucks for their work purpose. Smoke from numerous of the vehicles will cause air pollution. It will have adverse effect on people health.
To illustrate with, on eid holidays, when most of the masses returned to their hometowns to visit their family, there is no traffic on the road, everything seems so perfect. Even environment looks clean and fresh air feels so breathable.
On the other hand, reduction of masses in the countryside is not a positive effect. If people will reduce in the smaller towns, then who will responsible for development of crops. Although, all the crops for example, Wheat, Rice, Barley, Corn and many more comes from rural areas to the larger cities. If these all will deminish, there will be starving in the urban areas.
For instance, one of my relatives visited to my area and he informed me that workers for harvesting of crops has been reduced. All the wheat deterioate because no availability of farmers. All youngsters moved cities for higher education or for their permanent resdential.
In conclusion, I think there should be equality of individuals living in the cities and the villages because if all masses move to larger cities then who is responsible for the food.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
Your position is clear: you regard rural-to-urban migration as negative, and you address both the effects on cities and the loss of rural workers. The points about vehicle emissions and reduced crop production are relevant, and the example of your relative’s report gives the farming concern a personal illustration. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the claim that migration means everyone will buy vehicles is too broad, and the Eid comparison describes cleaner roads without clearly showing how it supports your argument. Develop each main point with a more precise cause-and-effect explanation and make the examples directly reinforce your position.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting different consequences, and a conclusion that restates your view. This gives the reader an overall route through the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and linking phrases can feel mechanical or inaccurate. “To demonstrate with” and “To illustrate with” do not introduce the examples naturally, while “On the other hand” suggests a contrast that is not fully established. Some references, such as “these all,” are also unclear. Use simpler, accurate transitions and make each paragraph follow a clear sequence: claim, explanation, and supporting example.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “proliferate,” “adverse effect,” “harvesting,” and “permanent residential,” and the reader can generally understand your meaning. However, several choices are unnatural or inaccurate, which limits precision: “masses” is repeatedly used where “people” or “residents” would fit, and “vise versa” does not express the intended movement. There are also spelling errors such as “deminish,” “deterioate,” and “resdential.” Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; using a smaller set of accurate terms will make the argument clearer than choosing formal-sounding words that do not fit the context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You use both simple statements and attempts at longer conditional or subordinate structures, such as “If people will reduce in the smaller towns, then who will responsible for development of crops.” These attempts show a willingness to vary sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and sentence construction occur in examples such as “who will responsible” and “all the crops … comes,” while “there is no traffic … everything seems so perfect” joins two complete ideas without suitable punctuation or a conjunction. Review conditional forms, subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. More accurate complex sentences would help you express the relationships between migration, farming, and urban effects.
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