Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-16

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)

Many people nowadays take decision for being entrepreneur rather than doing the job in a company. This is because they might want to enjoy their own business. However, it may lead to some problems associated with poor management skills.

Most of the people want to start up their own business and might want to enjoy the profit from the business rather than the salary. Some people do not want to do the task under the direction of any other. So, they chose their own business rather than doing job in the organization. Moreover, most people might not enjoy the remuneration from the company, and they might think of their own business. For instance, youngsters are attracted towards online business, after completion of their higher education on Business studies. They operate their own business, as they do not want any orders from the superior.

However, to become the owner is the hardest thing, if they fail to manage the whole activities including; marketing, staffing, promoting then they might face the horrible condition. As they have to make the plans, goal, vision, and mission for the business to operate smoothly. If there is lack of consistency, patients, dedication, hard work, and strategic plan in any business then it may face the problems of bankruptcy. For instance, if there is lack of key requirements to operate the business, then it will bear the issues in future for sure. But if there is strong management skills with the proper utilization of resources then it will operate and become able to create the image over the hundreds of business.

In conclusion, many people chose to be self-employed rather than doing job in the company. This is because their self respect, as they do not want to work under others' direction and supervision. However, to operate the business in smooth way the consistency is needed as well as the strong management skills with sufficient resources.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for autonomy and the risks associated with poor management. However, the development is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the discussion on 'remuneration' and 'not wanting orders' is essentially the same point. The conclusion introduces 'self-respect' as a new reason, which should have been integrated into the body paragraphs. To reach a higher band, you should provide more specific, well-developed examples rather than general statements about 'youngsters' or 'business studies'. The position is clear, but the supporting arguments need more analytical depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Moreover', 'However', and 'For instance', to link sentences. However, some transitions feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'So, they chose their own business' or 'But if there is strong management skills'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs needs more variety to avoid repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'remuneration', 'bankruptcy', and 'utilization of resources'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'take decision for being entrepreneur' (should be 'decide to become an entrepreneur') and 'horrible condition' (which is too informal and vague). There are also minor errors like 'patients' instead of 'patience'. To improve, focus on using more precise academic collocations and avoiding informal phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you attempt complex sentences, they often contain grammatical errors, such as 'If there is lack of consistency... then it may face the problems', where the subject-verb agreement and article usage are inconsistent. There are frequent errors in articles ('the' vs 'a'), pluralisation, and preposition usage (e.g., 'doing the job in a company' should be 'working for a company'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Increasing the accuracy of your complex structures is key to moving up.

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

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