Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Nowadays many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation.

Why might this be the case?

What could be the disadvantages of being self-employed?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Nowadays, a lot of people select to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation because many people have accomplished a wide varities of online business. I think that the self-empoyed can not be dauntiong experience for our lives. I will discuss both advantage and disadvantage and i will give you some reasons that will support my ideas.

Firstly, I have already mentioned that a wide varieties of online businesses have totally changed our minds because a lot of people are going toward online platforms such as amazon, freelancers and Alibaba. These types of works are most popular all around the world. Many people believe that the varieties of online businesses better than for company and organisation however, we just follow comapny or organisation rules at business points such as time management, policy and works pressure.

On the other hand, people choose to be their slelf-empolyed very difficult because we will face many challenges in the filed of self-empolyed like financial problems, locations problem and manage all online system. Unfortunately, this problems might be effect physical health and our lifestyl, due to reasons we will change our live ways for successful work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify online business as a reason people may choose self-employment and mention possible disadvantages, including financial problems, location difficulties, and managing online systems. However, the response only partially addresses the task: the reasons for choosing this work are not clearly explained, and the disadvantages are listed rather than developed with examples or consequences. The opening also says self-employment may not be a “dauntiong experience,” but this point is unclear and is not supported. The response contains 183 words, so it is 67 words below the required minimum; 13 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. To strengthen the answer, explain each main idea and add a relevant example, such as irregular income or the responsibility of finding clients.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph beginning “Firstly,” and a contrasting paragraph beginning “On the other hand.” These markers help the reader recognise the shift from reasons to disadvantages. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited, and several ideas are joined without a clear relationship. For example, the discussion of online platforms moves quickly to company rules and work pressure without explaining how these points connect. The introduction promises to discuss both advantages and disadvantages, but the body does not develop a clear sequence of supporting points. Use one focused paragraph for each part of the question, with a topic sentence followed by explanation and an example; use linking phrases only where they clarify the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some vocabulary relevant to the topic, including “self-employed,” “online platforms,” “financial problems,” and “time management.” This gives the reader a basic sense of the subject. However, the range is limited, and inaccurate word choice, spelling, and word forms sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “a wide varities,” “works pressure,” “locations problem,” and “change our live ways.” Some platform names are also used where a clearer description of the type of work would be more precise. Build a small set of accurate topic phrases, such as “flexible working hours,” “unstable income,” and “manage business expenses,” and check spelling and collocations carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a sentence with “because” and one beginning “Unfortunately.” This shows an effort to connect ideas rather than relying only on short statements. However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles, and punctuation sometimes make the message unclear. For example, “Many people believe that the varieties of online businesses better than for company” is missing a verb and has an unclear comparison; “this problems might be effect” also has problems with agreement and verb form. Capitalisation of “I” is inconsistent, and some sentences run together. Practise building accurate subject–verb sentences first, then add subordinate clauses, checking that each sentence has a complete main clause and consistent punctuation.

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