Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-21

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 contemporary times, many people prefer to be self-employed rather than work for an institution. This is because of their qualifications, financial stability, and interests. The reasons and the demerits have been discussed in this essay.

There can be many reasons to choose to start their own work. It depends upon their educational background. They study business and commerce subjects, which focus on how to start their own work. This gives them stability and a chance to earn more rather than working in a company. For instance, my cousin studied business subjects at the graduate level. He started his own setup, a food business; now he is earning more than a job. Moreover, some persons do not like to work under anybody. They prefer to work independently.

Although there are many advantages to being self employed but it has also prons. A job gives us a monthly income, which also saves us from any financial breakdown. Moreover, people who donot have enoigh experince to do self employed than it risks to down his business and cause the loss. Another disadvantage is the lack of resources. Sometimes, a person takes loan from bank to start his own business, but if he face lose in this, then he had a large of money to pay back to bank. For instance, our neighbour faced the same situation, now hw is suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Concluding, if a person has enough resources and experience he definitly statrt own setup, but if he is lack from any one then he must think to take this risk.

In conclusion, Self employed is a good option for those who has enough knowledge and expertise to run his business. But if they donot have enough sources then he should prefer to do work under any company to gain experince, which will provide him more options to explore the busnisess opportunities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing the reasons why people choose self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The position is generally clear throughout the essay, and relevant ideas are presented, such as educational background, financial independence, lack of experience, and financial risks. However, some ideas lack full development and depth. For instance, the point regarding educational background is somewhat restricted to business studies, and the arguments regarding disadvantages could be expanded with more sophisticated reasoning. The examples provided, such as the cousin's food business and the neighbour's bank loan, help support the ideas, though they are somewhat conversational in tone. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure, dedicating distinct paragraphs to the introduction, reasons, disadvantages, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Moreover', 'Although', and 'In conclusion'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence 'Although there are many advantages to being self employed but it has also prons' contains a dual conjunction error and awkward phrasing. Additionally, pronoun reference is occasionally confusing, as seen with 'if he face lose in this, then he had a large of money to pay back'. Progression is discernible, but logical transitions between sentences can feel abrupt, placing this squarely at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'contemporary times', 'financial stability', and 'educational background'. However, there are numerous word choice, collocation, and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'demerits' (used where disadvantages is more natural), 'prons' (pros), 'enoigh experince' (enough experience), 'loss' instead of 'losses', and 'definitly statrt own setup'. While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede overall communication because the intended meaning remains clear to the reader. This performance aligns with the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing conditional structures and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions. Examples of errors include 'people who donot have enoigh experince to do self employed than it risks to down his business', 'if he face lose', 'hw is suffering', and pronoun shifts ('if he... they... his'). Punctuation is also problematic in places. These persistent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammatical range and accuracy to a Band 5.0.

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