Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The increasing prevalence of self employment for the individuals has attracted considerable attention in the contemporary society. This essay will examine the reasons behind this phenomenon and evaluate whether it has a positive or negative development.

One primary reason for this is that, some individuals believes to make their own startups and create their own companies with their corresponding and generating new ideas related to their occupation study pauls. Furthermore, following this path and chose to be self employed as a career option, the individual also gains fame after creating their won businesses and their art of performing and displaying their skills in front of the society and the people who are working for other companies and any organisation. Therefore, these factors have played a crucial role in the emergence of this trend.

In my opinion, this development has negative consequences as well because the person who is trying to create their own self financed business would also had a risk of not shutting their more valuable startup plan in case of competitive and experienced businessmen in the market of the field. Moreover, after being settled in case of employment by ownself can also have more profit but it also gains some attitude and rudeness along with it to the other employees and which also relate in lack of particular position which further strengthens the assesment.

Consequently, the overall impact can be regarded as detrimental as being self-employed.

In conclusion, this phenomenon has emerged due to load of work due to having a respectable position in the organisation and in terms of limited salary which is decided by the boss. Overall, i believe that it has a negative impact on other companies as well

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The essay addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development of ideas is inconsistent and often unclear. While you identify reasons for self-employment, such as the desire to create startups, the explanation is hindered by awkward phrasing. The discussion of disadvantages is vague, focusing on 'risk' and 'attitude' rather than concrete challenges like financial instability or lack of benefits. The position is somewhat contradictory; you state you will evaluate if it is a positive or negative development, but the conclusion focuses on the impact on other companies rather than the individual. To improve, ensure each paragraph has a clear, well-supported main idea.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay uses basic cohesive devices like 'Furthermore' and 'Moreover' to link ideas, but the logical progression within paragraphs is frequently disrupted by unclear sentence structures. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow of arguments is disjointed. For example, the transition between the reasons for self-employment and the disadvantages is abrupt. Referencing is sometimes confusing, particularly in the second paragraph where the connection between 'being settled' and 'attitude' is difficult to follow. Improving the clarity of your topic sentences and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one will help improve your score in this area.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is generally limited and often used inaccurately. Phrases like 'occupation study pauls' and 'employment by ownself' are non-standard and impede the reader's understanding. While you attempt to use some academic vocabulary, such as 'prevalence,' 'contemporary,' and 'detrimental,' these are often placed in contexts that do not make sense. To reach a higher band, focus on learning common collocations and using words in their correct grammatical form. Avoid trying to use complex words if you are not entirely sure of their meaning or how they fit into a sentence.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There is a high frequency of grammatical errors throughout the essay, including subject-verb agreement issues ('some individuals believes'), incorrect verb tenses ('would also had a risk'), and awkward sentence construction. While you attempt some complex sentences, they are often grammatically incorrect, which makes the meaning difficult to grasp. Punctuation is also inconsistent. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement. Proofreading for common errors like missing articles or incorrect verb forms will significantly improve the clarity and accuracy of your writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.