Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-19

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 today's digital world majority of the individuals prefer being self-employed, instead of working for an organization or institute. This could be the case because many people prefer working to achieve their own goals, rather than working for somebody's else's vision.

Although working for yourself may have some advantages but it also has number of serious disadvantages. A person shouldn't make the decision without knowing the drawbacks of it. One of the major reasons people want to work for themselves is they want to be less stressed not knowing that you would have to work more hours than working for a company. On top of that the person has to fill out multiple roles which adds to the workload. For instance, you get tired of your 9-5 and switch to freelancing or come up with a start up wishing you would have more time for yourself and spend quality time with friends and family but all of it can be wiped off quickly since you're the person in charge of yourself, now you have to do everything by yourself and work even harder.

Self-employment doesn't guarantee inflow of money because you don't have your salary anymore. People switch to self-employment wishing to make more money not thinking that they don't have a constant salary slips being given to them every month. You also don't get paid leaves or sponsored holidays like you get when you work for an agency. In case of any serious health problem you would not be making any money like you would if employed for a company.

In conclusion, now a days self-employment is encouraged in the young generation but they aren't fully aware of the problems it can cause. Though it can be beneficial in some cases but can cause trouble in other scenarios.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for autonomy versus the reality of increased workload and financial instability. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why people choose self-employment is brief, and the discussion of disadvantages could be more deeply explored with more specific examples or a more nuanced analysis. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the argument is more characteristic of a Band 6.0 response, as it touches on the main points without fully extending them.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. There is a basic progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the conclusion. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'On top of that', 'In conclusion'). Additionally, some transitions between sentences feel abrupt, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the shift from 'you' to 'a person' within the same paragraph. While the structure is coherent, the lack of sophisticated linking devices keeps this in the Band 6.0 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There are some instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'constant salary slips' instead of 'consistent income' or 'regular salary'. The student uses some relevant terms like 'freelancing' and 'self-employed', but the overall lexical range is somewhat limited. There are also minor errors in collocation and phrasing, such as 'somebody's else's vision' and 'now a days'. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations and synonyms to avoid repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the majority of individuals'), pluralisation ('number of serious disadvantages'), and verb agreement. Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'you get tired of your 9-5 and switch to freelancing or come up with a start up wishing you would have more time'. These errors do not impede communication, but they are persistent enough to prevent a higher score. More attention to proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is needed.

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