Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19

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)

Nowadays, the majority of the population prefers to do their own work either as a freelancer or starting a business rather than doing work for a company or organization. There are many factors contributing to increasing this perspective incluing an independence in decision power and flexibility in working hours.in contrast to this, there are many disadvantages associated with self-employment.

One of the primary reasons which influences people in this way is the decision power independence. Employers have to seek permission of the company's CEO before initiating any new task. In addition workers are required to wait for the approval of their organization to do something for the betterment of the company, In fact, workers are considered as slaves during their working hours and are not allowed to leave their seats without the permission of the head,

Another factor which contributes to the rapid acceptance of this idea is felxibilty in working hours. The freelancer can do work on a time which is perfectly aligned with his timetable and suitability. Furthermore, it can provide relief to a person that gets pressurized by fixed working hours.

Despite having considerable reasons to follow self-employment. It also has many adverse effects. The stability and maturity in decision power generally comes with group work rather than freelancing or others. People can get the motivational remarks after the completion of their tasks which can boost their encouragement and confidence to achieve their future goals more efficiently. Although people doing self-work are more flexible in their working hours, it can also affect their stability of monthly or annual income in case of natural disasters, In fact, in post COVID era, self employed indiviuals are facing more challenges in their financial stability than others.

Overall, self work hase a lot of understandable reasons which causes the promotion of this case, however its drawbacks are also there which requied a proper solutions by the government or authorities

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by exploring the reasons for choosing self-employment, such as independence in decision-making and flexible working hours, and outlines the disadvantages, including income instability. The position is clear throughout the essay. The ideas are generally relevant and extended, although some supporting points, such as the claim that employees are considered as slaves, are somewhat overstated and lack nuance. Overall, the task is addressed competently, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 6 descriptor profile where all parts are covered with relevant ideas, even if some points are slightly under-developed or extreme.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression. Information and ideas are organized into paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by body paragraphs addressing reasons and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'Furthermore', and 'Despite having' are used, though referencing and transition management are sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in sentence fragments like 'in contrast to this, there are many disadvantages associated with self-employment.' Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'freelancer', 'self-employment', 'natural disasters', and 'financial stability'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'incluing' instead of including, 'felxibilty' instead of flexibility, 'indiviuals' instead of individuals, and 'hase' instead of has. Less common lexical items are attempted but occasionally result in awkward collocations or slight inaccuracies, such as 'decision power independence'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, fitting solidly into Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as relative clauses and conditional-like expressions ('in case of natural disasters'). However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('do work on a time'), punctuation errors ('self-employment. It also has...'), and subject-verb agreement or preposition issues ('get the motivational remarks', 'do work for a company'). While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, reflecting the typical profile of a Band 6 performance in grammar.

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