Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-15

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)

Nowadays, people prefer to do self-employment instead of working under companies or organizations. There are some benefits of independent work such as self development and flexibility of work, while the disadvantages are lack of retirement benefits and health issues.

On one hand, the advantages of business ownership are self growth and flexibility of work. When people start their own business they can achieve success in a short time by their hard work and skills. Consequently, they can earn more money without worrying about monthly income, which make them an independent person. Moreover, entrepreneur can set their own work schedule, they can work any time or at any location. Additionally, they can get projects according to their interest and profit, and can also work with different people.

For instance, company employee have to follow working hours, whereas business owners are free of time restrictions.

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks of self-employment such as no retirement benefits and health problems. Initially, company workers get pension after their retirement which can be helpful in their old age, while entrepreneur cannot have this privilege. As a result, self-workers have pressure of earning enough money to make their future financially stable. Furthermore, people who have their own businesses can face serious health issues such as depression, anxiety and heart diseases. For example, business owners have a lot of worries such as project completion, investments and profits, which can be harmful for their health.

In conclusion, although self-employment have numerous benefits such as self development and flexibility of working hours, yet it has some disadvantages such as health problems and worry about conditions in old age.

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 potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, covering flexibility and self-growth as benefits, and retirement/health concerns as drawbacks. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For instance, the point about 'earning more money' is asserted without much explanation, and the discussion on health issues could be more nuanced. While the position is clear, the supporting arguments would benefit from more detailed elaboration or specific real-world examples to reach a higher band. The response is balanced, but the depth of analysis remains at a functional level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'On one hand,' 'Consequently,' 'Moreover,' and 'In conclusion,' which help guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, though there are minor issues with pronoun usage and article consistency (e.g., 'entrepreneur' used as a singular noun without an article). Overall, the progression of ideas is coherent, and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to convey ideas clearly. There is some attempt to use topic-specific terminology like 'self-employment,' 'entrepreneur,' 'retirement benefits,' and 'financially stable.' However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are occasional errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'self-workers' (which is not standard) and 'worry about conditions in old age' (which is slightly awkward). To improve, the student should focus on using more precise academic collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'self-employment have,' 'entrepreneur can set,' 'company employee have') and article usage (e.g., 'the advantages of business ownership,' 'the disadvantages are lack of'). These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate better control over pluralization and subject-verb agreement, and aim for more error-free complex sentences.

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