Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-04

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 6.0)

Moving to urban areas has become increasingly common in recent days as people are moving to better opportunities. Although such movements open doors for better lifestyle and professional offers, It is not a positive development for cities and urban infrastructure. I believe, a more comprehesive approach to balance this issue, is necessary.

One major disadvantage of moving to cities is that they can place additional pressure to existing urban infrastructure.Although individual benefits can be achieved through employment opportunities, better educational and reliable healthcare services, they do not make these facilities available to everyone. Consequently, densely populated city area may experience greater pressure on public transortation and public services, potentially reducing the quality of life of the residents. Also, a growing population in city can increase traffic congestion and vehicle emissions contributing environmental pollution.

Furthermore, decreasing population in the rural areas may cause man power shortage in the countryside. Moreover, it may cause the wastage of resources and facilities. Thus, the employment opportunities should be distributed in different divisions of the country. So that people no longer need to move in cities in search or better opportunities.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh provides a relevant example, Since the last decades, this city has faced a huge migrate population from rural areas. Consequently, traffic congestions has increased and quality of life has dropped. The number of slums have increased possessing the illegal control of places.

In conclusion, migration to cities can help alleviate the initial problems, but I do not consider it a positive development. Instead, government should adopt a balance approach to move the central focus from cities and make facilities available across the country.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and you give relevant reasons, including pressure on city services and the loss of workers in rural areas. The Dhaka example also helps connect your argument to a real context. This meets the task, but the reasons are not developed equally. The point about urban transport and pollution is explained with consequences, while the rural labour shortage and “wastage of resources and facilities” are asserted without a specific illustration or explanation of their effects. Your conclusion introduces the idea of shifting the focus away from cities, but this solution could be linked more explicitly to the problems discussed. Develop each main point with a clear explanation or example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for the main arguments, an example and a conclusion. Ideas generally progress from urban pressures to rural consequences, and linking expressions such as “Consequently” and “Furthermore” help show relationships. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. The sentence beginning “So that people no longer need…” is a fragment, and “Although individual benefits…” does not connect smoothly to the claim about pressure on infrastructure. The Dhaka paragraph also shifts abruptly from traffic and quality of life to slums. Use complete sentences, make the relationship between each example and its point explicit, and link the proposed solution more clearly to the preceding argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “urban infrastructure,” “employment opportunities,” “traffic congestion” and “vehicle emissions.” These choices make the main ideas clear, and you attempt more specific language when discussing rural labour and public services. Some word choices, collocations and spelling errors reduce precision, however: “better lifestyle,” “man power shortage,” “huge migrate population” and “illegal control of places” are awkward or unclear. There are also spelling slips such as “comprehesive” and “transortation.” Aim for natural collocations and check word forms and spelling; this would make your argument sound more precise without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive opening (“Although such movements…”) and a cause-and-effect sentence beginning “Consequently.” Meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence boundaries, agreement, articles and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “So that people no longer need…” is not a complete sentence, while “a growing population in city can increase” needs more accurate article and number control. In “The number of slums have increased,” the subject requires a singular verb. Capitalisation after commas and spacing around punctuation also need attention. Practise checking each sentence for a complete main clause, subject–verb agreement and correct article use, while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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