Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In many parts of the globe people are moving from rural areas to urban centers. It resulting highest amount of decline to the people in countryside. It should be considered as negative development.

There are many reasons why I believe the decreasing in the rural areas has negative impacts. One of them is agricultural productivity, It is badly affected by the shortage of peoples in farming. As young citizens are moving to cities in search of hiring jobs or business, For example in Bangladesh there are many lands remained unused because the residents focused themselves in shifting to Dhaka and other big cities that resulted shortage of crops productivity. These forces the country to rely on agricultural imports from other nations. It affects not only in countries economical growth but also weakens national self sufficiency.

In addition, The rapid migration to cities from countryside is burden for biodiversity as it contributes badly to our environment at a larger scale. For instance, cities like Mumbai,India and Dhaka,Bangladesh are the world's most polluted cities in the world because of its overpopulation. In search of higher paying jobs, numerous facilities and advantages to do different types of business individuals came in urban centers from rural area. For that reason these cities are becoming overcrowded. The ecosystem is hampered by overpopulation And the air quality of the city is now devastated. Dhaka is now considered one of the most unorganized city in the world. It destroyed ideal city structure because of the pollution. The numbers of residential area are being constructed without maintaining proper strategy. The traffic system is now a big trade for the residents to be lived.

In conclusion, the global trend to moving urban areas from countryside is decreasing labor in rural areas which resulted in shortage of agricultural productivity. Urbanization is now considered as the key reason to the loss of biodiversity

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the opening: you consider rural-to-urban migration a negative development, and the conclusion returns to this view. You give relevant reasons, especially the loss of agricultural labour and the pressure that urban population growth places on the environment, with examples from Bangladesh, Mumbai and Dhaka. This addresses the question, but the two arguments are not developed equally. The agricultural point explains a possible chain from unused land to lower crop output and imports, while the biodiversity argument is less clearly demonstrated: pollution and overcrowding are discussed, but their connection to biodiversity is asserted rather than explained. Develop each reason with a clearer explanation and a specific, well-supported example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction states your view, two body paragraphs present separate reasons, and a conclusion summarises them. Linking phrases such as “In addition,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help readers follow the main stages. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. In the second body paragraph, the discussion moves from biodiversity to pollution, overcrowding, city planning and traffic without showing how each point supports the central argument. The conclusion also introduces “loss of biodiversity” without having explained that effect in detail. Organise each paragraph around one main claim, then use clear references and transitions to connect its explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “agricultural productivity,” “self sufficiency,” “overpopulation,” and “ecosystem,” which helps communicate the main ideas. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “urban centers” and “national self sufficiency.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the meaning less precise: “shortage of peoples in farming,” “hiring jobs,” and “a big trade for the residents” are examples. Some expressions are also repetitive, particularly references to cities and pollution. Aim for accurate, natural combinations of words and check word forms and spelling; for example, use “labour shortages in agriculture” and “a major challenge for residents.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a cause-and-effect structure in “As young citizens are moving to cities …” and a relative clause in “lands remained unused because the residents focused themselves…”. This shows some range, but errors in sentence construction and agreement recur and can make parts difficult to follow. For example, “It resulting highest amount of decline” lacks a correctly formed verb, while “These forces the country” has a subject–verb agreement problem. Capitalisation and punctuation also need attention: “It” after a comma and “And” mid-sentence are incorrectly capitalised, and several long sentences would benefit from clearer punctuation. Practise building accurate complex sentences and check verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries.

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