Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-09

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)

People these days are considering to be self-employment more, rather than working for a company or organisation. In my opinion, it is better to start something of your own. Although its fine to work for company too.

In the era in which we are living people are becoming more self-centered. They only think about themselves and don't give opportiunities to other people. That's one of the main reasons people are choosing self-employment. Individuals prefering starting their own business and companies to have a good income source. For example, my husband was a corporate employee who worked 9-5 daily.But he was not getting the right amount of salary and he become very frustrated due to it. So, he decided to open his own software company to generate more income and profit.

Although, there are some great disadvantages of being self-employed. Particularly, the most common drawback is the risk factor. In starting a new company you have to take big risk of investment. It is completely possible that if you do not choose the right business for yourself you can fail miserably. The second most common reason is that when you're new to a business you suddenly don't get the recogination you deserves and due to that many people loose their confidence and feel unmotivated. In addition to that their busniess profits fall down and fail before it rise. For instance, I know someone who started a food chain but in few days after the number of their orders decressed he felt so demotivated that he stopped posting about it and due to that his regular customers also stopped buying from them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: you suggest that people seek better income and describe investment risk, lack of recognition, and falling profits as disadvantages. The examples about your husband and the food business help make these points concrete. However, the explanation of why people choose self-employment is limited: the claim that people are “more self-centered” and do not give others opportunities is broad and does not clearly explain the appeal of working independently. Your opening also gives a personal preference rather than establishing a clear, sustained position on the task. Develop the reasons more directly—for example, autonomy, flexible hours, or control over earnings—and explain how each disadvantage affects self-employed people.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening, a paragraph on reasons, and a paragraph on disadvantages. Signposting such as “For example,” “The second most common reason,” and “In addition to that” helps readers follow the main points. However, progression is uneven: the opening says self-employment is better, then adds that company work is fine, without clarifying the essay’s position. Some links are mechanical or unclear, particularly “Although, there are some great disadvantages,” and the final example’s sequence of falling orders, reduced posting, and lost customers could be explained more clearly. Use topic sentences that state each paragraph’s main idea, and connect examples explicitly to the point they illustrate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “self-employment,” “investment,” “risk factor,” “income source,” and “unmotivated.” These choices make the general subject clear, but the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or repetitive, such as “great disadvantages,” “big risk,” and “right amount of salary.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “opportiunities,” “recogination,” “busniess,” and “decressed,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise collocations and vary repeated terms: for instance, describe “financial risk” or “unstable profits,” and use “earnings” or “salary” appropriately. Proofreading for spelling and word forms would make your meaning more reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including conditional structures such as “if you do not choose the right business … you can fail” and a relative clause in “someone who started a food chain.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to follow. Examples include “People … are considering to be self-employment,” “Individuals prefering starting,” and “he become very frustrated”; these show problems with verb patterns, forms, and tense. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “work for company” and “daily.But.” Practise accurate patterns such as “consider becoming self-employed” and check subject–verb agreement, tense consistency, articles, and punctuation when editing.

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