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)

In recent days many people prefer to choose to be self employed rather than working for another company or organisation.

This new trent has started becoming a game changer because there is always an overload of work when working for another organization, this leads to much of work pressure on daily basis which create an work life imbalance. Importantly office politics are becoming another contributing factor which demotivates and demoralize the working environment. The work pressure has started increasing specially after the Covid, based on past observations the extended working hours culture has started, employers are expecting employe to work for extended working hours and forced to complete the task the same day.

There are disadvantage of being self-employed, if work schedule not organized properly procrastination of task may led to delayed delivery of task, this could impact the reputation of individual. Also there is a study shown in past conducted by Haward University, that self-employed individual brain function less effectively then the employee due to lack of work pressure and commitment.

Also there could be a chance of any getting any work which can not only impact the individual this will also impact the family. Risk of failure is high being self employed, this can not only impact physical health but also it impacts the mental health as well. In Information Technology sector most of the regular outsourced task are now efficiently handed using Artificial Intelligence system, so competition has highly increased with getting small projects for self employed individuals.

Considering few benefits be employee, self-employed resource should have the abi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the disadvantages involved. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven. The reasons provided (work-life balance, office politics) are relevant but could be expanded with more depth. The disadvantages are touched upon, but the argument regarding 'brain function' lacks clarity and feels underdeveloped. Furthermore, the essay ends abruptly mid-sentence, which prevents a full conclusion and impacts the overall task completion. To improve, ensure that each point is fully explained with clear examples and that the essay reaches a logical conclusion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or missing. For instance, the transition between the benefits and the disadvantages is abrupt. There is a reliance on simple linking words like 'also' and 'this', which limits the flow. The progression of ideas is sometimes hindered by grammatical errors, making it difficult to follow the logic in the second and third paragraphs. Improving the use of transition signals (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'on the other hand') would significantly enhance the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. There are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'getting any work' instead of 'securing consistent work' and 'demoralize the working environment' (which should be 'demoralise employees'). Some terms are used incorrectly, such as 'self-employed resource'. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'outsourced' and 'Artificial Intelligence', the overall range remains limited. To improve, focus on learning collocations and more sophisticated synonyms for common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'disadvantage of being self-employed' should be plural), incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'brain function less effectively'), and punctuation errors. The sentence structure is often repetitive, and the abrupt ending indicates a lack of control over the final structure. To reach a higher band, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring correct verb tenses, and proofreading for common errors like missing articles and pluralisation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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