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)

There is an increasing number of people nowadays that opt to work for themselves rather than working for a company or organisation.

Firstly, some of the most common reasons for this case may be due to the lifestyles and income that it provides. Working in a company or organisation requires a strict working routine, it requires responsibilities or even high a standard. On the other hand, self-employed jobs often has a flexible working schedule, people can have more free time and feel less pleasured. Therefore more people may rather work for themselves rather than for a company as they prefer a free and less stressful environment.

However, self-employed jobs can’t guarantee the amount of income. A full time employee from a company or organisation may require a higher standard, however it can guarantee you a proper amount of salary each month, compared to self-employed people, the wage may vary everyday according to how many customers you approach and how much you make a day. Secondly, self-employed people often have a tough time in fighting for opportunities. Since companies and organisations are often big enough and trusted, they can easily provide workers opportunities, unlike self-employed people. Therefore, people who work for themselves are often more risky as their income depends on how much they make a day, moreover it will also be more challenging for them to look or fight for opportunities due to the fact that they are not big enough or trusted by others.

In conclusion, although the number of people that are self-employed has been increasing these days, it’s still a risky and considerate decision. Although things may seem to be more flexible and provides more freedom, many things are variable, including salaries and opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, focusing on flexibility versus income stability. However, the development is somewhat limited. For instance, the explanation of why self-employed people struggle to 'fight for opportunities' is a bit vague and repetitive. To reach a higher band, you should provide more concrete examples or deeper analysis of the challenges, such as the lack of employee benefits or the administrative burden of running a business. The position is clear throughout, but the depth of argument could be improved to fully satisfy the requirements of a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the argument. There is a logical progression from the reasons for self-employment to the disadvantages. You use some cohesive devices like 'Firstly', 'On the other hand', 'Therefore', and 'However'. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'due to this case'. Additionally, some sentences are slightly repetitive in their structure, which affects the flow. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a strong, unified focus would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to express your ideas clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'self-employed', 'flexible working schedule', and 'income stability'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'less pleasured' (which is not standard English) and 'proper amount of salary'. The range is somewhat limited, and you rely on basic descriptors. To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common vocabulary related to the world of work, such as 'financial volatility', 'autonomy', or 'professional development'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'self-employed jobs often has' (subject-verb agreement) and 'people may rather work' (should be 'would rather'). There are also some awkward phrasings, such as 'it requires responsibilities or even high a standard'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and ensuring that complex sentences are constructed accurately will help you improve your grammatical accuracy.

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

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