Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-09

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 the modern era, a few individuals prefer their own work ,rather than to work under the pressure of firms. There are some pros and cons which will be elaborated in the upcoming paragraphs with relevant example.

Commencing with, fundamental reasons could be takes into consideration why people choose to be self-employed . Primarily, to earn a lot of money and they not like share their skills. This point is further bolstered by the fact when they run their own business ,they don't share the inner creativity to the other person ,and they can achieve their goals with the help of their skills. Apart from this, firms give a high pressure This point is substantiated by the fact that when pupils work in the companies they provide the less opportunity to the individuals and give work load and due to this they choose their own work rather than the work in big businesses .

on the other the drawback of this can not be neglected first and the foremost individuals not improve their communication skills .To verify it, when individuals work by their own they become a isolated and not exchange the thoughts different nation pupils. Having an example of the foreign countries, due to globalization people can easily move from one place to another due to this they have opportunities to work in the big firms and improve their creativity. Another important aspect is that they don't achieve a experience to the eminent firms because of this it also puts the detrimental impact on the individuals life.

In Conclusion, the self-employed provide the merits to earn a lot of money and shoe their inner creativity as well as work free form the pressure ,whereas people not improve their communication skills and don't achieve a popularity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt, identifying reasons for self-employment and potential disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is limited. For instance, the explanation regarding why people choose self-employment—'to earn a lot of money and they not like share their skills'—is somewhat simplistic and lacks depth. The arguments regarding disadvantages, such as the lack of communication skills, are also underdeveloped and occasionally unclear. While the response covers the requirements, the ideas are not fully extended or supported with convincing evidence, leading to a somewhat superficial treatment of the topic.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the logical progression is often hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. While cohesive devices like 'Commencing with' and 'Apart from this' are used, they are sometimes applied incorrectly or in a way that feels unnatural. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the second paragraph where the connection between 'pupils' and 'companies' is confusing. The overall structure is present, but the flow of ideas is frequently interrupted by grammatical errors and imprecise vocabulary, which makes the text harder to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The range of vocabulary is limited and often repetitive. There are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'take into consideration' used incorrectly, 'not exchange the thoughts different nation pupils', and 'shoe their inner creativity' (likely a typo for 'show'). The student attempts to use some more complex vocabulary, but these attempts often result in inaccuracies that can impede the reader's understanding. To improve, the student needs to focus on using words in their correct context and expanding their range of academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences are frequently marred by grammatical errors. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'reasons could be takes into consideration'), missing articles, and incorrect preposition usage. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences and misplaced commas. While the meaning is generally discernible, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the essay from reaching a higher band score.

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