Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-29

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 contemporary world, employees are preferring to work online rather than going to office on a daily basis. This topic has become a title of considerable debate over the period. Work from home promotes comfort and minimize the transport expenses. I do not think that there are any adverse effects of being self-employed.

In this modern digital era, there are several compelling online opportunities offered by organizations and this trend have been gaining tremendous popularity now-a-days. Also, many people are working independently without collaborating with any company or firm. I believe working independently from their homes gives employees a lot of appealing benefits. They can save transportation expenses, give time to their families, enjoy personal spacing by working flexible hours. Additionally, they can perform multiple tasks rather than depending on single 8 hours jobs. They can save themselves from toxic workplace culture. For instance, Japan have highest number of sad and despondent employees due to their unbalanced work-life situation. Natives works approximately 12 hours in a day and return to home after their boss.

From my perspective, there are more advantages of being the CEO of your own company rather than working for someone else. However, there are some adverse effects. For example, self-employer can become less punctual, and competitive. Lack of motivation could be the result of this. Also, the person could become less creative. He will be unaware of the latest market trends.

Now-a-days, people are building their own businesses to work remotely and independently. I also believe employers can save their huge investments with the idea of E-office.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development is inconsistent. While the reasons for choosing self-employment are well-supported with examples like the Japanese work culture, the section on disadvantages is underdeveloped and contradictory. You initially state, 'I do not think that there are any adverse effects,' which contradicts your later paragraph listing disadvantages. This lack of a clear, consistent position impacts the overall task response. To improve, ensure your introduction clearly outlines your stance and that all body paragraphs directly support the prompt's requirements without internal contradictions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is disrupted by the contradictory statements mentioned above. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Additionally' and 'For instance,' but they are sometimes used mechanically. The transition between the benefits and the disadvantages is abrupt, and the final paragraph feels disconnected from the rest of the essay, acting more like an afterthought than a conclusion. Improving the use of linking words to show contrast and ensuring each paragraph has a clear topic sentence would significantly enhance the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'contemporary,' 'compelling,' and 'despondent.' However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'self-employer' instead of 'self-employed person' and 'personal spacing' instead of 'personal space.' Some collocations are also slightly unnatural, such as 'give time to their families.' To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring that your word choices are contextually accurate and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('this trend have been gaining,' 'Natives works') and article misuse ('in contemporary world'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure is sometimes repetitive. To improve, focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and refining your use of articles. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while ensuring they remain error-free will help you achieve a higher score.

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.