Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-13

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)

It is believed by many individuals that many people are now intrested to be self-employed, rather than to work on a company or organisation. In this essay I will explain Why people are choose to start their own work and disadvantages of being self-employed.

On the one hand, many people choose to be self-employed because of some reasons. They do not like to work for other companies and organisions because they feel that the owner behaive rudly with them. The main reason is freedom. They can work according to their time. They can work according to their own scheduale. Moreover, they can earn more they do not have to give salery to others. People can work without any type of pressure. They can do their work according to their taste.

On the other hand, despite the advantages it has some disadvanges. People do not get health insurance. They do not get money when they are retired from their job. They do nat have any type of stress by choosing to work for a company or organisation. Moreover, sometimes people do not have enough money to handle the business. They connot invest money on the business for which the business do not worked. In addition, they cannot purchase land to built their company so less money is also a big problem for them.

In conclusion, although self-employed has many advantages. However, its drawbacks are more. People can feel more stress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both questions: you give reasons such as freedom to set working hours and the possibility of keeping more earnings, then mention disadvantages including lack of insurance, retirement income and start-up funds. However, these points are mostly listed rather than explained or supported with relevant examples, and the conclusion adds little beyond saying the drawbacks are greater. The response is also below the required 250 words: it contains 232 words, with eight words copied from the prompt excluded from the count. This limits the space available to develop your ideas. To strengthen the response, explain how each reason or disadvantage affects people and include a specific example, while making your overall position clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about reasons, a paragraph about disadvantages and a conclusion. The contrast between the main sections is signposted by “On the one hand” and “On the other hand,” so the reader can follow the broad organisation. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited: several short statements repeat the same point, such as working “according to their time” and “according to their own schedule.” Some links are unclear or inaccurate, particularly “They do not have any type of stress by choosing to work for a company,” which conflicts with the surrounding discussion. Group related points, use clearer references, and connect each claim to its explanation rather than relying mainly on basic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main topic, including “self-employed,” “health insurance,” “retired,” and “invest.” However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “work,” “people,” and “company or organisation.” There are also frequent spelling and word-choice problems, such as “intrested,” “organisions,” “behaive,” “scheduale,” and “disadvanges,” which make the writing less clear and strain the reader. Some combinations are unnatural, for example “give salery to others” and “the business do not worked.” Build a more precise vocabulary for employment and business, and check spelling and collocations carefully. For instance, you could describe “start-up costs” or “financial security” when explaining the disadvantages.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Most sentences use simple patterns, and you attempt a few longer structures, including “although self-employed has many advantages. However, its drawbacks are more.” However, the range is very limited, and frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “many people are choose,” “the owner behaive rudly with them,” and “the business do not worked.” The final sentence also uses “although” without completing the contrast in the same sentence. Practise forming accurate subject–verb patterns and past or present verb forms, and combine related ideas with correctly structured clauses. Proofread punctuation as well, particularly where a sentence begins with “Although.”

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