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)

It is argued that todays many individuals choose to be self-employed instead of working as a employee.

The key reason of this case is many people want to be an entrepreneur. This is to be say that they want to work independently, rather than to work for a company. Furthermore, many individuals try to build their own company or brand that's why they choose to be self-employed, which is helped them to reach their destination. For example, if they do not try to be self-employed they always be an employee of others companies.

But being self-employed has disadvantages. The primary problem is financial problem. For being self-employed they have to quit their jobs for that reason they can face financial problem. However, they have to invest money for being an entrepreneur so, it involve risk for losing money. Another main problem is choose wrong idea or decision. This is because anyone start a business without any knowledge about that it has huge probability to face losses. For instance, if a person open a computer shop but he has no idea about technology so he can not understand of the customers need. And at the end he will face a big loss. Because he start a business without study or knowledge.

To conclude, being a self-emplyed can be a good decision when they have a good knowledge what will they want to do. On the other hand, it can be a big mistake when try to being a self-employed without any knowledge or experinece of it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: you explain that people seek independence and want to build a business or brand, then discuss financial risk and the danger of making poorly informed decisions. The computer-shop example helps illustrate the second disadvantage, and your conclusion gives a relevant qualification about the need for knowledge. However, the reasons for choosing self-employment are less fully developed than the disadvantages; for example, explain what independence offers in practical terms or why building a brand is attractive. Some points are also unclear, such as how self-employment helps people “reach their destination.” Develop each main idea with a clearer explanation and a specific supporting example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The sequence within the disadvantages paragraph is also understandable, moving from financial risk to poor business decisions. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “However,” and “For instance” help signal relationships between ideas. At times, though, cohesion is mechanical or the connection is unclear. For example, “This is to be say” does not clearly introduce the explanation, and “Because he start a business without study or knowledge” is an isolated fragment that repeats the preceding point. Use clearer references and connect explanations to the sentences they support.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “self-employed,” “entrepreneur,” “invest,” “risk,” and “losses.” The examples also make the discussion understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, which sometimes makes the meaning less natural. Phrases such as “financial problem,” “reach their destination,” and “a big loss” could be expressed more precisely in this business context. There are also spelling errors, including “todays,” “emplyed,” and “experinece.” Build a wider set of accurate expressions for independence, business ownership, and financial uncertainty, and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional example beginning “if they do not try” and a clause introduced by “because.” The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors occur across the response. Examples include “as a employee,” “which is helped them,” “they always be an employee,” and “anyone start a business”; these show problems with articles, verb forms, and agreement. The final paragraph also contains an incomplete construction in “when try to being a self-employed.” Practise forming complete clauses and checking subject–verb agreement, verb patterns, and articles. More accurate control of these structures would make your explanations easier to follow.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.