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 modern generation, people are very busy in their life and they achieve their goal from the being self-employed. Many people choose to be self-employed rather than work for a company and organisation. People improve their living standards through own work and own businesses. This essay will discuss disadvantages and reasons in the ensuing paragraph.

To embark with, todays people prefer to work at home and own business. They choose self-employed rather than work for company and organisation. There are some drawbacks for being self-employed. They loose their money through invest in their own business. As a result, sometimes they feel very depressed and take a wrong decisions. They reduce their skilled at home or work for own business and lack of skilled they faced difficulties to running business. Peole do not have steady income and sometimes they faced difficulties in regular life. Higher taxes can make a financial pressure on people who choose self-employed. If they want to be self-employed they take total responsibilities for their income source.

Here, there are some reasons for people choose to be self-employed. They have flexibility for their schedule and they doing their work anytime. People can set their own business strategy for their business. If they success in their business they have unlimited earning potential. As a result, they keep their profit of their hard work rather than working with company and organisation. Through own business and work they learn marketing, negotiation, finance and other skills. They gradually mastered in professional growth

In conclusion, people loose their money through invest in their own business. Moreover, they faced difficulties in running their business and sometimes they feel low and depressed. However, they learning new skills and flexibility in their own schedule. As a result, they keep their full profit from their business.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. However, the development of these ideas is limited. While you mention points like 'flexibility' and 'financial pressure', they are not fully extended or supported with concrete examples as required for a higher band. The introduction is somewhat repetitive, and the conclusion merely restates points without adding synthesis. To improve, ensure each main idea is supported by a specific explanation or a hypothetical example to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which is a positive step. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'To embark with' is not a standard transition, and the repetition of phrases like 'company and organisation' across paragraphs makes the flow feel somewhat disjointed. While there is a logical progression from disadvantages to reasons, the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks sophisticated linking. Improving the variety of transition words and ensuring that pronouns clearly refer back to previous nouns would enhance the overall flow.

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 significant repetition of basic terms such as 'business', 'work', and 'people'. Additionally, there are errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'loose their money' (should be 'lose') and 'lack of skilled they faced difficulties' (should be 'lack of skills'). To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring correct word forms, such as distinguishing between 'skill' (noun) and 'skilled' (adjective).

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are attempts at complex sentences, they are often marred by grammatical errors, such as 'they doing their work' (should be 'they do their work') and 'If they success' (should be 'If they succeed'). Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency are frequent issues throughout the text. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and reducing errors in verb forms. Incorporating a wider variety of complex structures, such as relative clauses or conditional sentences, would also help demonstrate better grammatical control.

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

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