Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-14
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 the present day a significant number of masses choose to be self employed rather than to work for a company. Although the reasons are work pressure and generate more income, there are some disadvantages as well.
The one of the major reason is work pressure. This is due to the fact that people do not want to work under someone else. They want to work by own self without any pressure and own working hours with freedom and flexibility . Another reason on its favour is generate more income. To elaborate, if people can start their own business they can earn more income because a successful business can provide more income and profit attract more customers, increase salary and expand their services.
However, the disadvantages of being self employed is high responsibilities. This means that the owner has to handle everything such as money, customers and services. Which single person can not handle easily This can be stressful and time consuming, especially when the business is new. As a result, they may have less free time for their family and personal activities. The second drawback is business failure. To justify, if the business does not succeed, they may lose their investment and loss confidence to start again. They can not start their business again because they lose their money.
To conclude, there are reasons why people choose self employed because generate more income and work pressure, but there is too drawbacks of this.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for self-employment and potential disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited and somewhat repetitive. The essay falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the overall task achievement. The arguments regarding 'work pressure' are slightly contradictory, as the text suggests people choose self-employment to avoid pressure, yet later implies that the owner must handle all responsibilities, which is stressful. A more nuanced discussion would improve the score.
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 inaccurate. For example, 'The one of the major reason' and 'Another reason on its favour is generate more income' show awkward transitions. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the second paragraph where the link between starting a business and increasing salary is not clearly explained. Paragraphing is present but the internal flow within paragraphs needs more sophisticated linking words.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is frequent repetition of basic terms like 'income', 'business', and 'work'. Some word choices are unnatural, such as 'a significant number of masses' and 'loss confidence'. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary, but the lack of variety and occasional errors in collocation prevent a higher score. Expanding the range of synonyms and collocations would be beneficial.
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 clarity. Examples include 'The one of the major reason', 'work by own self', and 'Which single person can not handle easily'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some sentences ending abruptly or lacking proper conjunctions. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction limits the score to the 5.5-6.0 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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