IELTS Task 2 sample essay: Young People Leaving Rural Areas
Direct questionsCities and transport
The question
Many young people are leaving rural areas to live in cities. Why is this happening? What effects does it have on the places they leave?
Try writing your own answer first, then compare. Reading a model before you write tends to make you copy it.
The plan
Position: Why: jobs, education and services are concentrated in cities. Effects: ageing, shrinking services and economic decline in villages.
- Why: farming needs fewer workers; universities and good jobs are urban; young people want variety.
- Effects: villages age, schools and shops close, the economy weakens; some remote work and investment can slow this.
Model answer
292 wordsIn many countries, young people are leaving the countryside for towns and cities. This movement is driven mainly by the concentration of jobs, education and opportunities in urban areas, and it leaves rural communities older, smaller and economically weaker.
The main reason is employment. Farming, once the largest rural employer, now needs far fewer workers because of machinery, and few new industries have replaced it. Most professional and skilled jobs, from engineering to media, are based in cities, so young people with qualifications have little choice but to move. Education plays a part too: universities and colleges are mostly urban, and many students who leave home to study never return. Finally, cities offer a variety of entertainment, culture and social life that small villages cannot match, which matters greatly to people in their twenties.
The effects on the places they leave are serious. As young adults move away, rural populations become steadily older, and fewer children are born. Village schools close for lack of pupils, which then discourages young families from moving in, and shops, banks and bus services follow because they are no longer profitable. Older residents who remain may find themselves isolated, with a long journey to the nearest doctor or supermarket. Local businesses also struggle to find workers, so the rural economy weakens further, creating a cycle of decline.
This process is not inevitable. Fast internet connections allow some people to work remotely from the countryside, and investment in transport and local services can make rural areas attractive to young families again.
In conclusion, young people leave rural areas mainly because jobs, education and social opportunities are concentrated in cities. Their departure leaves villages ageing and losing services, although better connections and investment could help to reverse the trend.
Scored by the MyBandPrep checker on 7 October 2026. An estimate, not an examiner’s mark. How scoring works
Why it works
- Task Response
- Both questions are answered in full, with one body paragraph each; the short fourth paragraph adds balance without straying from the question.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- The effects paragraph shows cause and effect clearly (“which then discourages…”, “creating a cycle”).
- Lexical Resource
- Precise vocabulary: “little choice but to”, “for lack of pupils”, “a cycle of decline”, “not inevitable”.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Accurate complex sentences with relative clauses and participle phrases.
Phrases worth reusing
- little choice but to move
- for lack of pupils
- a cycle of decline
- This process is not inevitable
- help to reverse the trend
Now write your own
Answer this question in 40 minutes and get an estimated band with the sentences to fix.