Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-10
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)
In the contemporary era, advancements of technology,a majority of people would like to build own business than doing work for a private firm. In the recent time , people have numerous options available and effortlessly they can do online business through use of online platforms. Being self-employed, people have to do all works and responsibilities by oneself.
One of the primary reasons for this issue is that people do not prefer to work under anyone as they want to be dependent and free. This is because people have various types of opportunities available like, online shopping application and social media applications. It enables to people to business effortlessly and a minimal budget or finance. Thus, people are willing to become entrepreneour. For example, according to a recent survey in the USA on the new generation people
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the required word count of 250 words, reaching only 136 words. Consequently, the task is not fully addressed. The ideas presented, such as the desire for independence and the role of technology, are relevant but remain underdeveloped due to the abrupt ending of the essay. The response fails to discuss the disadvantages of being self-employed, which is a core requirement of the prompt. Because the essay is incomplete and fails to address all parts of the task, it cannot progress beyond a band 4 level for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay shows some attempt at logical organization, with an introduction and a body paragraph. However, the progression is interrupted by the incomplete nature of the text. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'One of the primary reasons' and 'Thus', but the overall structure is fragmented. Paragraphing is not fully utilized as the essay ends mid-sentence, preventing a clear conclusion or a balanced development of ideas. The lack of a complete argument makes it difficult to assess the flow of ideas effectively.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'do all works' (should be 'all the work') and 'minimal budget or finance' (should be 'minimal capital'). The term 'entrepreneour' is misspelled. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'contemporary era' and 'self-employed', the limited length of the response restricts the ability to demonstrate a wider or more sophisticated range of lexical items.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect clarity, such as 'advancements of technology,a majority' (missing preposition and punctuation), 'do business effortlessly and a minimal budget' (preposition error), and 'It enables to people to business' (incorrect verb structure). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing around commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors and the limited variety of sentence structures prevent a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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