Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-29
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, an increasing number of people are choosing to become self employed instead of doing the regular job in a company or oraganisation. This essay will explain why is this happening and what are disadvantages of self employed.
On the one hand, self employed rate is increased rapidly all over the world because there is freedom and flexible timing and they do not have work limit. There is no restriction of 9 to 5 time as job because you are independent and no manager pressure of doing task which are given by them. For example freelancer on fiveerr can do their work from any pary of world because there is no restriction of doing work at specific site. In addition to this the salary is fixed by the company nevertheless from buisness and earn unlimited money. Moreover, a person can earn by using internet on different apps such as Amazon, Daraz and many other websites by selling products online.
On the other hand, income are not stable in business sometime there may be zero earning due loss which cause financial pressure on the person. There are fluctuation in earning becuse sometime they do not earn anything due to their medical reason. Moreover, finding a customers is very difficult in these days because there are so many company. For example it is also cause stress in person due to loosing customer.
In conclusions, people choose self employment because they want freedom and more income, but this way of working also has a drawbacks such as unstable income and more responsibility. Altough it has risks, i think self employment can be good choice if a person is a hardworking.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses all parts of the prompt, successfully discussing the reasons why people choose self-employment, such as freedom and flexible timing, as well as the disadvantages, such as unstable income and customer acquisition difficulties. The position is clear throughout the essay. Ideas are generally relevant and supported with specific examples, such as freelancers on Fiverr and online selling through platforms like Amazon and Daraz. However, some ideas remain slightly underdeveloped or rely on generalisations, such as the claim that finding customers is very difficult nowadays because of too many companies. This places the response comfortably in Band 6.0, as all parts are addressed with relevant ideas, though further extension and depth would be required for a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that separates the introduction, the reasons for self-employment, the disadvantages, and the conclusion. Logical progression is generally maintained, and basic cohesive devices are used, such as On the one hand, On the other hand, and In conclusions. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the transitional phrase 'nevertheless from buisness and earn unlimited money' lacks grammatical clarity and disrupts smooth progression. Furthermore, pronoun referencing is occasionally imprecise. These features indicate that cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully attempting less common items and specific contemporary examples such as freelancer, online, Amazon, and Daraz. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'oraganisation' instead of 'organisation', 'buisness' instead of 'business', and 'fiver' instead of 'Fiverr'. Word choice and collocations are also occasionally strained, such as 'doing the regular job' and 'due loss'. These errors do not impede overall communication, but their frequency prevents the lexical score from reaching Band 7, making Band 5.5 a fair representation of the student's current control.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating conditional-like structures and relative clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'income are not stable', 'there is freedom and flexible timing and they do not have work limit', and 'it is also cause stress'. Punctuation and word order in dependent clauses also show flaws, as seen in 'This essay will explain why is this happening'. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and demonstrate that complex structures are frequently faulty, placing the grammar performance at a Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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