Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-04

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 5.5)

Career is an important aspect of every person’s life, and with the advancements in technology, many new prospects have opened up for people. There has been a sudden upsurge in self-employment in the current times, and an increasing number of people prefer not to work in the corporate industry. The growing popularity of social media paired with the freedom of choice and the sense of ownership has made freelance and self-employment an appealing choice for many people despite the risk to their stability, both financially and mentally.

Most people around the world use social media, which allows them access to a large audience of varied ethnicity. Those in the creative field, now have a medium to market their inventions and art, subsequently, creating a huge clientele. This provides them an opportunity to pursue a career of their interest and earn a living through those interests. Many new small businesses have opened up on Instagram in all fields of life including baking, painting, fashion, and craft. The ease of running one’s own business due to technology has made self-employment an appealing choice.

In conclusion, self-employment has become easier than in the days of the past owing to technology and modernization. Thus, despite the drawbacks, thousands of people find it appealing and are ready to face the challenges brought onto them by their choice of career.

self-employment is a good choice for some people. However, it also brings more responsibility and financial risk .so, this the my opinion about people choose to be self employed .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development is uneven. While the reasons for the rise in self-employment (technology, social media) are clearly explained, the second part of the prompt—the disadvantages—is significantly under-developed. You mention 'financial risk' and 'mental' stability in the introduction, but these points are not expanded upon in the body paragraphs. The conclusion attempts to address this, but it is too brief and lacks the necessary depth to fully satisfy the requirements of the task. To improve, ensure each body paragraph provides detailed examples and analysis for every part of the question.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into an introduction, one body paragraph, and a conclusion. However, the paragraphing is problematic; the final paragraph is fragmented and lacks a logical flow, with the last two sentences appearing disconnected from the rest of the text. While you use some cohesive devices like 'subsequently' and 'however', the transition between ideas is sometimes mechanical. The structure of the final paragraph, in particular, hinders the overall progression of your argument. Improving the logical connection between sentences and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, unified focus would significantly enhance your score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to communicate your ideas clearly, using terms like 'upsurge', 'corporate industry', and 'clientele'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, which is positive. However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and minor errors, such as 'in all fields of life' (better: 'in various sectors') and 'brought onto them' (better: 'brought about by'). The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but more precise word choices and better collocations would help you move into a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The growing popularity of social media paired with the freedom of choice... has made freelance... an appealing choice'. While many sentences are clear, there are recurring grammatical errors, particularly with punctuation and sentence fragments, such as '.so, this the my opinion about people choose to be self employed'. These errors occasionally impede the flow of your writing. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring that every sentence is complete and correctly punctuated.

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