Rural to Urban Migration: Positive or Negative Development

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?

Annotated response

19 correction notes

Showing 19 correction notes.

People have different views on the influences that a large number of the country’s population choose to settle down in cities have on themselves and society. While there are some detrimental impacts on their children and their mental health, I do believe that they can benefit more from such migration.

On the one hand, it would cause adverse effects both individually and socially. To begin with, , the of these disadvantaged people would cause a shortage of housing and even traffic congestion in urban centres. Furthermore, the of these valuable labourers would hinder the development of agriculture. For example, it would trigger the . In addition, these villagers would experience a higher degree of marginalization, greater discrimination from people around them, which would impact their overall sense of well-being. Lastly, children of these disadvantaged individuals would be turned into and feel much lonelier than their counterparts who are accompanied by their parents.

There are many reasons why I support the idea that would contribute a lot both to themselves and society as a whole. Firstly, would earn more money and improve their quality of life. For instance, they would have more disposable income and decent savings to provide for their parents and better education for their kids. Besides, would and enlarge their social connections and help them . Thirdly, highly-intensive competitiveness in cities can contribute to their rapid growth in career paths, enhance their professional skills and have a more prosperous future.

In conclusion, I can understand the reason why individuals are concerned about the would argue that it would bring more benefits than drawbacks including improved living standards, an expanded social circle and , which are all valued in modern society.

Overall assessment

Why this response received Band 7.0

The strongest aspect is the clear, consistent argument that rural-to-urban migration brings more benefits than drawbacks, supported by organized paragraphs and concrete examples. The main limitation is imprecise or awkward word choice, such as 'leftover kids' and 'descending productivity', alongside grammatical slips that occasionally reduce clarity. The response meets the length requirement and addresses the task directly.

IELTS criteria

How each score was decided

Task Response

7.0

The response presents a clear position throughout, addresses the question directly, and develops both sides with relevant supporting examples, though some ideas like the children's point receive limited extension.

Coherence and Cohesion

7.0

Paragraphing is logical and cohesive devices are used appropriately to guide the reader, with only occasional mechanical sequencing such as 'Firstly... Besides... Thirdly'.

Lexical Resource

6.5

There is a reasonably wide vocabulary range including topic-appropriate terms like 'marginalization' and 'disposable income', but imprecise word choices and unnatural collocations recur and slightly impede clarity at times.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

6.5

A variety of complex structures is produced with reasonable accuracy, yet errors in agreement, comparative forms, and relative clauses are noticeable and occasionally reduce clarity.