Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-02

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)

Nowadays many peoples choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation. According to my opinion every employ has more advantages in self-employment as compared to work with any company or organization.

First there is a simple theory that mindset of our community is, we have to study higher to achieve a job with good salary package, and after completing their studies public start running behind jobs, Private sector takes large advantage of this public fact. Because they know there are thousands of employes who need jobs at low income. Employes are good as they have government job, in government sector they have good salary package as well as medical opportunities and pay leaves. But in Private sector employes do not have these advantages, they work extra hours but not have much salary as they expected. when they see these types of differences employes get disappointed.

My personal opinion for self employes, that they studied so employes have to use their knowledge in their own business, as they can work according to their needs and earn as much as they can, although there are several businesses with higher salary package. Employes can do farming, financing they can build their own poultry farm, dairy farms and more business, and earn more income as compared to government and private sector. there is no chance of disappointment in self-employment.

Conclusion, I suggested to every student that study higher to build their own empire and have massive salary package, and we see merits overweigh demerits of working with companies and organizations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, but the development of ideas is inconsistent. While you explain why people choose self-employment (dissatisfaction with private sector conditions), the second part of the prompt—the disadvantages of being self-employed—is largely ignored. You mention that there is 'no chance of disappointment' in self-employment, which is an overgeneralization and fails to address the inherent risks, such as financial instability, lack of benefits, or long working hours. To improve, ensure you dedicate a full paragraph to the potential downsides of self-employment to provide a balanced argument as required by the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. Transitions between ideas are often missing or mechanical, such as starting paragraphs with 'First' or 'Conclusion'. The internal structure of the paragraphs is disjointed; for example, the second paragraph jumps between government jobs, private sector issues, and personal opinions without clear signposting. The use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes inaccurate, which makes the flow of the argument feel repetitive and occasionally difficult to follow. Using a wider range of linking words (e.g., 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'on the other hand') would help improve the logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is significant repetition of words like 'employes' (misspelled), 'salary package', and 'business'. Some word choices are unnatural, such as 'public start running behind jobs' and 'study higher'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise collocations and a wider variety of synonyms to express your ideas. For instance, instead of 'salary package', you could use 'remuneration' or 'financial compensation'. The frequent misspelling of 'employees' also impacts the overall impression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures. While there are some attempts at complex sentences, they are often marred by grammatical errors, such as 'when they see these types of differences employes get disappointed' (missing punctuation and article usage). There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement, pluralization, and article usage (e.g., 'every employ', 'the mindset of our community is'). These errors are persistent and occasionally impede the clarity of your message. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction and ensuring consistent use of articles and plural forms before attempting more complex structures.

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

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