Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-26

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)

Nowadays, an increasing number of professionals are choosing self-employment rather than working for companies or organizations. This is mainly because self-employment provides greater freedom and flexibility, although it also has several disadvantages. This trend is driven by the desire for autonomy, yet it carries significant risks regarding work-life balance and health.

On the one hand, every person wants freedom, whether in making decisions or in earning, and does not want to work for any boss or in an organization. Mostly in organizations, employees face many issues regarding their pay as well as incentives. The toxic and unprofessional culture in some companies demotivates the real and honest worker, and some employees who flatter their superiors gain promotions and incentives. Additionally, this type of discouragement is not usually temporary; it can continue for a long time and eventually encourage employees to become self-employed.

Furthermore, a self-employed person is free to work, and there is no fixed schedule, but every act has a price, and the self-employed person pays the price in the form of sleepless nights, no fixed daily time, and health issues. As online work has no fixed time, maybe clients send you texts late at night to fix any issue that sometimes is minor but mostly disturbs the employee's night routine. Sleepless nights create many health issues in the form of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc.

In conclusion, people may choose self-employment because it offers greater freedom and flexibility, although it can also make it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

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 disadvantages involved. The ideas are relevant, focusing on autonomy and workplace culture as drivers, and health/work-life balance as drawbacks. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why people choose self-employment relies on generalizations about 'toxic' cultures and 'flattering' superiors, which could be more nuanced. While the response meets the minimum length, the depth of analysis is closer to the Band 6 level, as the arguments are presented but not fully explored with concrete examples or sophisticated reasoning. The position is clear, but the overall development lacks the depth required for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, the progression of ideas within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition between the discussion of workplace culture and the shift to self-employment could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the paragraphing is basic. The flow is sufficient to follow the argument, but it lacks the sophisticated, subtle use of cohesive devices that would characterize a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There is an attempt to use less common vocabulary, such as 'autonomy', 'demotivates', and 'incentives'. However, there are some instances of imprecise word choice, such as 'earning' (which should be 'earnings' or 'income') and 'every act has a price' (which is a bit informal/cliché). The range is sufficient to communicate the main points, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for a Band 7 or higher. The vocabulary is functional rather than sophisticated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'every person wants freedom, whether in making decisions or in earning' (awkward phrasing) and 'maybe clients send you texts' (informal usage of 'maybe'). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are some minor issues with sentence construction that occasionally affect the flow. While the errors do not impede communication, the range of structures is somewhat limited, and the control over complex sentences is not consistent enough to reach the Band 7 level.

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

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