Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-02

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 alot of countries around the world, for many reasons, rural communites are moving to live in cities. Some of them wants a easier life, some others want a better one in the city. And because of that, the number of residents in countryside is falling.

From my perspective, this is a huge negative development for cites and for the countrysides. To begin with, this can affect negativally the cities because the numerous village residents who are moving there. This can lead to increase the polution in cities, especially air polution since the number of car users is growing faster than the usal. The growing number of city population can affect the economy of the city and its finances. A huge problem also is the difficulty of finding jobs, it will be harder for city members to find a job anymore since the number urban residents is increasing. For exemple, in my city we had a little problem to have a job but it was managable for people they wait 1-2 weeks and they find a great job, and since a lot of rural people came to live in my city, they occupated all the jobs and the city members couldn't find one.

For the country side, this developement can also affect negattivally since a lot of the residents are moving to cites. This can lead to a huge lack of workers who it affects agriculture and farming activites and this can reduce food production. Also the people who are moving away are mostly young residents, leaving behing mostly elderly residents and this can cause the closure of local businesses. For exemple, when young people move away, small shops, schools and other facilites may shut down due to declining demand. And leaving the countryside may cause the deteriorisation of public services, schools, healthcare facilites and public transport may become less accessible.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and you address effects on both cities and the countryside. Relevant points include increased pollution and competition for jobs in cities, alongside reduced agricultural labour and the loss of local services in rural areas. The example about job availability in your city helps make one point more concrete. However, some claims need clearer explanation or more careful support: the link between migration and city finances is mentioned but not developed, and the claim that newcomers “occupied all the jobs” is very broad. Develop fewer points in more depth, explaining the cause-and-effect links and using a specific, credible example for each main argument.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, followed by separate paragraphs on urban and rural consequences. Signposting such as “To begin with” and “For the country side” helps readers follow this structure, and examples are placed near the points they illustrate. At times, however, connections between ideas are mechanical or unclear. The city paragraph moves from pollution to finances and then employment without fully showing how these points relate, while “And leaving the countryside…” begins a sentence fragment rather than a complete concluding point. Use clearer topic sentences and link each supporting detail explicitly to the paragraph’s main idea. A brief conclusion would also give the essay a more complete sense of progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “agriculture,” “food production,” “public services,” and “declining demand.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “air pollution” and “local businesses.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural word combinations are noticeable, for example “alot,” “polution,” “occupated all the jobs,” and “deteriorisation of public services.” Some repetition of “huge” and “moving” also limits flexibility. Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, and choose precise terms rather than intensifiers. This will make your arguments clearer and help you express distinctions between effects on employment, infrastructure, and services.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including cause-and-effect structures with “since” and “because,” and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “Some of them wants” should use a plural verb, and “a easier life” needs the correct article. The sentence beginning “This can affect negatively the cities because…” is awkwardly constructed, while “the number urban residents” is missing a grammatical link. The final sentence beginning “And leaving the countryside…” is incomplete. Practise checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and complete sentence structure, especially when joining several ideas. More accurate control of these patterns would make your reasoning easier to follow.

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