Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-12
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)
Many people in todays world opt to be self-employed rather than providing their services to an organisation or a company. Self employment means that people can be can have an independent thought process rather than taking orders from superiors. Like everything else, self-employed individuals face disadvantages like lack of ideas and fluctuating income.
Independence in work is what all professionals dream of when working in a company or an organisation. Professionals who crave for this independence end up choosing the path of self-employment. When individuals take up tasks when working they become the sole decision maker. For example, in corporate sector when people sit down to the ideation for a product, hundreds of ideas are thrown at once. Hence, individuals feel that they aren't heard enough and this very problem stems them to opt a path of self-employment.
Although individuals choose the path of self-employment, they often forget to weigh disadvantages. More often than not, self-employed individuals fall in the trap of lack of relavent ideas. To build something from scratch we must have experts, because multiple requirements must be taken into consideration when ideating. A self-employed individual might have an expertise on 2-3 requirements, but to have relavent ideas on every stage of the life-cycle is challenging. This deteriorates the overall quality. Fluctuating income also plays its part in disadvantages. Although self-employment can generates great fortune, it is very inconsistent in doing so. People always think that self-employment will solve their financial problem, but they forget the fluctuations in income. You could have a month with great sales, yet the next three months could scarce in terms of sales.
In conclusion, independence stems the idea of employment, but doesn't mean it free from disadvantages like shortage of ideas and variable income.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully addresses both parts of the prompt, exploring the reasons why individuals choose self-employment, such as having an independent thought process and being the sole decision-maker, alongside disadvantages like a lack of varied ideas and fluctuating income. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas leans towards being somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the discussion of ideas and ideation in both body paragraphs. While examples are provided, such as the corporate ideation setting, they could be further extended to reach a higher band. Overall, all parts of the prompt are covered, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6, leaning towards Band 6 due to under-developed support in places.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two main aspects of the prompt: reasons and disadvantages. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Although individuals choose', 'For example', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, as seen in awkward transitions like 'This very problem stems them to opt a path', where lexical choice in linking concepts feels unnatural. Logical progression is present, but tighter cohesive ties would elevate the writing. This fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'self-employed', 'independent thought process', 'sole decision maker', and 'fluctuating income'. There are, however, several noticeable lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'todays' instead of 'today's', 'relavent' instead of 'relevant', and awkward collocations such as 'stems them to opt' instead of 'compels them to opt'. Furthermore, the phrase 'could scarce in terms of sales' lacks a verb. These vocabulary errors demonstrate an attempt to use a wider range of items with some inaccuracy, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 category.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional and concessive clauses ('Although self-employment can generates great fortune, it is very inconsistent'). There are, nonetheless, several grammatical errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('self-employment can generates') and missing prepositions or articles ('in corporate sector', 'the life-cycle'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede overall communication. The command of grammar reflects the Band 6 descriptors where a mix of structures is used alongside recurrent errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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