Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-27
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 5.0)
The given topic discusses the advantages and disadvantages of being self-employed, rather than to work under any company or office.This essay will desribe first whats the reason behind it and then the disadvantages of being self-employed.
Nowadays aspects of people are changed. In ancient times people use to work under any company or any private- sector to earn for their better living and support families. But now the minds and the thinking of people is changed rapidly they dont like to work under any company or follows someones instructions. One reason could be that people's ego might get hurt sometimes if they obey someones order. Rather than that people think that they can earn more independantly and on thier own in contrast to work under somebody. People are now influenced towards buisneses rather than jobs because they think buisness is an independent way to live and earn they feel more relax and calm in their own work. Anxiety, pressure, these things doesn't borrow them like in job field.
Another reason is that in a job there is a fix earning that might not be sufficient for someones daily life because there are less oppurtunities in jobs than own buisness so in buisness u can earn as much u want by working hard and expand ur buisness on ur own.
The disadvantage of being self-employed vary from person to person someone might cant handle buisnes because there is loss and profit in buisness so u dont get all time profit but in job u have no tention of these things u get ur fix sallery and u live a tention-less life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing the reasons why people choose self-employment, such as autonomy and earning potential, and outlining the disadvantages, such as income instability and business risks. The position is generally clear throughout the essay. However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, relying on sweeping generalisations rather than fully supported explanations or concrete examples. For instance, the claim that people's ego gets hurt by obeying orders is simplistic and lacks depth. To reach a higher band, the student needs to extend and support ideas with more sophisticated reasoning and specific real-world examples.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The essay displays some overall organisation, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing reasons and disadvantages, and a basic structure. However, there is no clear overall progression and paragraphing is underdeveloped. The introduction is overly brief and slightly confused, and the conclusion is missing entirely, as the final paragraph merges straight into the disadvantages. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and sometimes inaccurate, such as using 'Rather than that' and 'Another reason is that'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and logical links between sentences are frequently strained, making the flow somewhat mechanical and disjointed throughout the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The lexical resource is limited but minimally adequate to communicate the basic points. The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the topic, such as 'self-employed', 'independent', and 'anxiety', but these are frequently misspelled or poorly controlled, as seen in 'independantly', 'buisneses', and 'oppurtunities'. There are also frequent issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'fixed earning' instead of 'fixed income' and 'tension-less life' instead of 'stress-free lifestyle'. These errors and informal abbreviations like 'u' noticeably distract the reader and impede fluent comprehension, placing the vocabulary firmly in the lower band range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and basic coordination. Attempts at complex sentences are often faulty, frequently resulting in run-on sentences and punctuation errors, such as missing full stops and commas. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'aspects of people are changed' and 'disadvantage... vary', as well as tense inconsistencies and missing articles. These persistent errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and demonstrate weak control over complex structures, aligning with the descriptors for a band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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