Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-07

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 RECENT TIMES, MANY PEOPLE PREFER TO WORK IN INDEPENDENTLY NO AGREEMENT WITH COMPANY OR ORGANISATION. MOST OF PEOPLE WHO DO FREELANCING THEY DONT WANT TO WORK UNDER BOSS. THEY DONT WANT TO LOCK IN ANY BOND AND AGREEMENT. THEY WANT FREEDOM TO CHOOSE WORK THAT PERFECT FOR THEM. AND SOMETIME THEY GET BETTER FINACIAL DEAL FOR SHORT DURATION WORK. HOWEVER THERE ARE SERVERAL DISADVANTAGES OF BEING SELF-EMPLOYED THAT I DISCUSS IN FURTHER.

MOSTLY PEOPLE PREFER FREELANCING BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSONAL LIFE. ALTHOUGH, MOST OF THEM WORKED FOR COMPANY OR ORGANISATION IN PAST. THEREFORE IN THE PAST THEY DONT HAVE TO MUCH TIME TO SPEND WITH FAMILY OR FRIENDS. BECAUSE OF THAT THEY WANT FLEXIBLE WORK TIME SO THEY CHOOSE TO BECOME FREELANCER. IN FREELANCING THEY HAVE OPTIONS TO CHOOSE WORK THAT SUITABLE FOR THEM IN BOTH FINCIAL AND DURATION WISE. IN MANY SECTORS CRAZE FOR SELF-EMPLOYED RAISED. FOR INSTANCE, IN VFX SECTOR MOST OF VFX DESIGNER PREFFER TO WORK WITH INDEPENDENT PROJECTS RATHER THAN WORK IN BOND COMPANY. SAME AS FOR VIDEO EDITOR THEY WORK INDEPENDENTLY AS PER SEASON THEY GAIN MUCH MONEY LIKE WEDDING SEASON THEY WORK FREELY.

ALTHOUGH, THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY SELF EMPLOYED IS NOT GOOD. FIRST IN FREELANCING THEY DONT HAVE ANY PROPER INFORMATION ABOUT CLIENT. SO AFTER WORK IF THERE IS ANY PROBLEM OR SOMTHING HAPPEN THEN THEY DONT HAVE ANY DEATILS. ALSO THEY HAVE NO AGREEMENTS LIKE ORGANISATIONS HAVE SO IF THERE IS ANY PROBLEM COME IN CLIENT WORK YOU DONT HAVE ANY BACKUP. ALSO THERE IS NO COLLEAGUE IN WORK SO THAT WAS VERY STREESFULL WHILE COMPLITING THE WORK. THERE ARE ALSO CONSEQUENES FOR PERSON WHO DOING FREELANCING. LIKE THEY DONT GAINING NEW KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR INDUSTRY. ALSO SOME TIMES THAT DONT HAVE ANY PROPER BUDGET PROJECT SO THEY SUFFER FROM FINACIAL PROBLEM. THERE IS NO PAYMENT ON SICK LEAVE OR BONUS IN FESTIVELS.

IN CONCLUSION, DOING FREELANCING IS GOOD FOR WHO NEAR THE RETIERMENT SO THEY GIVE PROPER TIME TO FAMILY. BECUASE IN FREELANCING PEOPLE HAVE NO PROPER FINACIAL STRUCTURE IN FUTURE.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and give a relevant overall explanation: independence offers flexibility, time for family, choice of projects, and sometimes better short-term earnings. The VFX designer and wedding-season editor examples help make these reasons concrete. You also identify several disadvantages, including uncertain client arrangements, lack of colleagues, financial instability, and no sick pay or bonuses. This coverage is relevant, but some points are unclear or only briefly explained—for example, the claim that freelancers do not gain industry knowledge needs a reason or example. Your conclusion introduces retirement as a particular case without developing it earlier, and the final point about future financial structure could be stated more clearly. Develop the less-supported ideas and make the conclusion reflect your main discussion more directly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph explaining why people choose self-employment, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. This gives the reader a broad route through the answer. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, and linking words are occasionally mechanical or inaccurate. For instance, “Although” begins sentences that do not present a contrast, while “Therefore” does not clearly connect the past lack of family time to the decision that follows. Several ideas are joined in long sequences with repeated “also,” making relationships between points less clear. Use topic sentences and organise each paragraph around a small number of connected ideas; choose linking expressions that accurately show cause, contrast, or addition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “freelancing,” “flexible work time,” “independent projects,” “financial problem,” and “sick leave.” These terms allow you to discuss both the attractions and risks of self-employment. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making meaning harder to understand: “lock in any bond,” “proper information about client,” and “no proper budget project” are not natural expressions in this context. Spelling errors such as “finacial,” “preffer,” and “consequences” also reduce accuracy. Build a bank of precise phrases for employment and income, and check spelling and word forms during revision. More natural collocations would make your ideas clearer without requiring unusually advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “although,” and “so,” and the reader can generally identify your main points. However, control is inconsistent across the response. Examples include “many people prefer to work in independently,” “most of people,” and “they don’t have to much time,” which show problems with sentence construction, articles, and quantifiers. Verb forms and agreement are also unreliable, as in “most of them worked for company” and “they don’t gaining new knowledge.” Some sentences are fragments or have unclear clause connections, such as “Because of that they want flexible work time so they choose to become freelancer.” Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then add subordinate clauses and check tense, agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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