Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-18

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)

Getting employed in this generation is very tough that is why most individuals choose to become self-employed besides working under a company, This essay will outlined the significant reasons behind this notion and also highlight the cons in the fourth coming fragments before reaching to the conclusion.

The first and foremost reason behind this statement is, low pay rates among employees. It can be seen that most of the organisation did not pay their workers very well as the compedation among individuals rise for a job,companies started paying their employees more poorly For an example, A survey done by a local news channel shows that salaries among works has been decreased by 12% in past five years. Secondly, exessive work load and stress. Nowadays most of the working class is dealing with burnout as companies forced individuals to work for longer hours which leads to their stress as this lead them to being self employed.

However,there can be varies disadvantages of this notion like, Failure or huge lose. starting own bussines may lead to a total lose which is not possible if a person works under a organisation for example , a TV news channel reports that more than 65% of startups fails during the first year.

In conclusion, no doubt that poor pay rates and workload may lead individuals to become self employed but they may face a huge lose or a failure in their work.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for self-employment and potential disadvantages. However, the response is under the 250-word minimum, which limits the depth of development. The ideas, such as 'low pay rates' and 'workload', are introduced but not fully extended with detailed analysis. The conclusion is brief and lacks a summary of the main points. To improve, you should aim to expand on your examples and provide more nuanced explanations for each point. Because the response is under-length, it fails to fully develop the response as required by the task instructions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'The first and foremost reason', 'Secondly', and 'However'. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by mechanical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'in the fourth coming fragments'. The transition between ideas is sometimes abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that connects logically to the previous one.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several spelling errors (e.g., 'compedation' for competition, 'exessive' for excessive, 'bussines' for business) and word choice issues (e.g., 'huge lose' instead of 'huge loss'). You rely on basic vocabulary and struggle with collocations. To reach a higher band, you need to use more precise academic vocabulary and ensure correct spelling. Avoid repeating the same words and try to incorporate more sophisticated synonyms to express your ideas more effectively.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'most of the organisation did not pay' (subject-verb agreement), 'salaries among works has been decreased' (incorrect word form), and 'companies forced individuals' (tense inconsistency). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and verb tense consistency. Proofreading your work for these common errors will significantly improve your score.

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

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