Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-25
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 recent years, the majority of people are interested in starting their own business instead of working in a company or an organisation. The main reasons of this increasing trend are financial dependency and less amount of money to fulfil their desires. Being self-employed has some disadvantages including risk of failure, high investment, and it requires expertise.
In terms of reasons why people prefer to be self-employed is that they have to depend on companies for salary, taking leaves, and working hours. They have to follow the rules organised by a company and neglecting rules can lead to penalties. Therefore, some people want to live an independent life and like follow their own established rules. This is because they prefer to start their own business. Another main reason is that many people do not able to earn enough income while working in a company. They get money according to their position and expertise. As a result, they do not able to fulfil their basic needs of life and live a luxurious life which encourage them to be self-employed.
Starting a business may have negative impacts on a person and a main point is the requirement of sufficient income. A person must have an adequate investment to spend on business and to earn money as a result. Moreover, success of a business also requires an experience in the specific area of the business. Therefore, a person must have to get expertise, organize his ideas properly, and them implement these ideas into a business activity. Finally, a main disadvantage of being self-employed is the risk of failure. Starting a company does not guarantee success, a person have to face challenges, work for 24 hours, and attentively participate in the business. Besides this, there are still chances of loss in business.
In conclusion, the majority of people choose to be self-employed due to some reasons including dependent status, following the rules of the company, and earning insufficient amount of money. However, starting a business might be disadvantageous for a person due to risk of failure, financial requirement and expertise.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for self-employment and the associated disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for independence and the risk of financial instability. However, the development is somewhat repetitive and lacks depth. For instance, the discussion on 'financial dependency' is slightly unclear, and the explanation of why people choose self-employment could be more nuanced. While the position is clear throughout, the arguments would benefit from more specific examples or a more sophisticated analysis of the modern labor market to reach a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In terms of', 'Another main reason', and 'In conclusion'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow between sentences feels a bit disjointed. The progression of ideas is logical, but the transition between the reasons for self-employment and the disadvantages could be smoother to improve the overall coherence of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to convey their ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'self-employed', 'investment', 'expertise', and 'penalties'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'financial dependency' (which seems to mean financial independence) and 'less amount of money' (which should be 'a smaller amount of money'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('many people do not able to', 'a person have to face') and article usage. Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'they do not able to fulfil their basic needs'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. A wider range of error-free complex structures is needed to move beyond a band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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