Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-22

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)

At present, a lot of people want to be self employed instead of working for a company or organisation.

To have flexibility and freedom in work, many people are interested in being self employed. Firstly, flexibility allows the employee to work attentively. Because it could provide to spend quality time with family and friends. Secondly, freedom makes the worker more happier, it gives access to work properly. On the contrary, working for a company or organisation might create complexity to get flexibility and autonomy. Company or organization only wants profit rather that employee satisfaction.

However, being self employed has so many obstacles such as financial management and proper planning issues. For instance, i had a clothing business, in the very beginning i earned a lot. Moreover, i started to take online pre order as well, inspite of doing profite, in the middle of time being i was stucked because of improper planning,my business was fall down. As i invest much more than i earned, my startup was not grew well. Nevertheless, i found barriers in dealing customer as i was not aware of it. Though business has ups and downs, it should be profitable to be continued, otherwise, it could be harmful for ones self employed or startup.

To sum it up, i would not suggest others for choosing to be a self employee if they have not enough finance or proper planning. Proper knowledge of any startup can be a changemaker, thus i would recommend to gain knowledge onwards.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for self-employment and the disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. The reasons for choosing self-employment (flexibility and freedom) are mentioned but not fully explored in terms of their broader impact. The disadvantages section relies heavily on a personal anecdote about a clothing business, which is relevant but lacks the analytical depth required for a higher band. The conclusion is a bit simplistic and does not fully synthesize the arguments presented. To improve, you should aim to expand on your points with more detailed explanations or broader societal examples rather than relying solely on personal experience.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'On the contrary', and 'However'. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel forced. For example, the transition from the benefits to the disadvantages is abrupt. Additionally, the referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the sentence 'it gives access to work properly', where the pronoun 'it' lacks a clear antecedent. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each sentence logically follows the previous one would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range expected at higher levels. You use some repetitive phrasing, such as 'self employed' and 'company or organisation'. There are also instances of awkward word choices, such as 'my business was fall down' and 'dealing customer'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety and occasional errors in collocation limit the score. To improve, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to business and employment, and work on using synonyms to avoid repeating the same terms throughout the essay.

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 readability. Examples include 'Because it could provide to spend quality time', 'more happier', 'inspite of doing profite', and 'my startup was not grew well'. These errors in verb tense, comparative forms, and sentence construction are noticeable. While you attempt to use complex sentences, they are often faulty. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy, such as subject-verb agreement and correct tense usage, will help you achieve a higher score. You should also proofread your work to catch simple errors like 'stucked' instead of 'stuck'.

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

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