Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-08

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)

In recent years, self-employment has become a widely discussed issue. Some people say that self-employed is better than doing a job in an organisation or company. While some people say that doing job is better than self-employed

On the first hand, nowadays people are choosing to become a self-employed, rather than to do job in different kind of companies. According to my point of view self-employed is not that much easy because you need some kind of organization to work there and gain some knowledge about how to be a part of it. Becoming self-employed is not easy you need to gain some knowledge about it for that you need to study about your business and stay focused on your idea.

On the other hand, building up your own business with out knowing anything can causes many disadvantages. For example, My friend started a company of wire production and he was not well experienced because he never do a job in that kind of comapnies and he had gain zero knowledge and his organisation did not perform well and he loss a lot of money.

Therefore, it is good to become self-employed person in this generation but you need to know about everything before becoming independwnt.

In conclusion, I will say that becoming independent is not that much easy it is a time taking process you need to do a job firstly and t6han try to hold up your own business. It will take some time but it is all about your interest in it

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both questions in a basic way: you suggest that people need knowledge and focus before starting a business, and your friend’s failed wire-production company illustrates the financial risk of lacking experience. However, the reasons people choose self-employment are not clearly explained; the response mainly discusses preparation and whether it is easy. The disadvantages are also narrowed to one example of losing money, with little explanation of other possible risks, such as an uncertain income or responsibility for all business decisions. Your position is difficult to follow because the opening contrasts two views, while the conclusion recommends working for a company first. Develop each question directly and make your overall view consistent.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs signalled by “On the first hand” and “On the other hand,” and a conclusion. The example about your friend is placed in the paragraph about disadvantages, so the reader can follow its basic purpose. However, progression is limited: the first body paragraph focuses more on preparation than on why people choose self-employment, and the conclusion repeats the idea that it is difficult without clearly summarising both answers. Some linking phrases are inaccurate or mechanical, and the opening sentence fragment beginning “While some people say” interrupts the flow. Use topic sentences that answer each question and connect explanations to examples more explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main topic, including “self-employed,” “organisation,” “business,” “experienced,” and “loss a lot of money.” The example also shows an attempt to use topic-related language. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “self-employed,” “job,” and “knowledge.” Some word choices or forms are inaccurate and make the meaning less natural, such as “doing job,” “building up your own business,” and “hold up your own business.” Spelling errors, including “comapnies” and “independwnt,” also reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of precise terms for benefits and risks, and check spelling and collocations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a conditional idea in “building up your own business with out knowing anything can causes many disadvantages.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to read. For example, “self-employed is better” lacks a suitable noun phrase, “he never do a job” has an incorrect verb form, and “he had gain zero knowledge” uses an incorrect tense construction. There are also sentence-boundary and punctuation problems, such as the incomplete “While some people say…” clause and the long sentence about your friend. Practise complete clauses, subject–verb agreement, and consistent past-tense narration.

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.