Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In todays modern era, everyone wants to be rich more than others as many people nowadays wants to start their own business rather than a job. Well through my perspective it has both pros and cons.

but I think its disadvantages are far more than its advantages.

on the one hand , It has some benefits like the people who didn't like to work for others like under a companies boss. They have an opportunity to start their own business or firm where they are the only one which has the power. What i mean is they are get self employed. Also by starting their own organization or firm they can generate 50 to 70 percent more income than they are generating through their jobs. For example a person that was making only 20 thousands a month by a local work , he can easily generate 80 thousands by starting a business.

On the other hand , there are also many negative outcomes of self employment like they may be lost their all investments. For instance , when they are starting their own business as by starting this they are just taking a major risk. Furthermore if all of the individuals are just getting self employment than there are no one for the jobs available like number of job falls. And also there will be shortage of workers in many sectors. In addition , there will be a big competition between many businesses may occur due to more companies and firms

in conclusion, overall it has both pros and cons.

but I think its disadvantages are more than its benefits. Like there are many risks of starting our own business as the risk of downfall, more competition. However it can be beneficial for someone who has a better knowledge of starting their own company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for self-employment and the potential disadvantages. However, the development is somewhat superficial. The reasons provided, such as autonomy and income potential, are clear but lack depth. The disadvantages, including financial risk and labor shortages, are mentioned but not fully explored with sophisticated reasoning. The position is consistent throughout, but the overall argument would benefit from more detailed examples and a more formal tone. The essay meets the basic requirements of the task but remains at a Band 5.5 level due to the limited development of ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, the transition 'Well through my perspective' is informal and awkward. There are also issues with sentence-level cohesion, such as the fragmented sentence 'For instance, when they are starting their own business as by starting this they are just taking a major risk.' Paragraphing is present but the logical flow between ideas is sometimes interrupted by repetitive phrasing and grammatical errors. More varied linking words are needed to improve the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. There is a reliance on basic terms like 'good', 'bad', 'job', and 'business'. Some word choices are imprecise or non-standard, such as 'they are get self employed' and 'making only 20 thousands'. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'investments' and 'sectors', but the overall range is limited. To improve, the student should focus on using more academic collocations and avoiding informal phrasing like 'Well through my perspective'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement ('many people nowadays wants'), incorrect verb forms ('they may be lost their all investments'), and punctuation errors. The use of articles and prepositions is also inconsistent. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The student needs to focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading for common grammatical slips.

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