Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

In the modern-era many people choose to be self-employed,instead of working for any company or organisation.I firmly agree with these statement because choosing self-employement have various beneficial effects such as profit ,satisfaction for work,team work and one of the main reason is giving opportunities to skilled people.

On the one hand, public is more attracted to money rather than working long hours for earning fewer wages.For example, opening a restaurant or food bussiness in eat street can attract more people with unique ness can provide jobs for waiters,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies a possible reason for self-employment—earning more money—and mentions satisfaction, teamwork and opportunities for skilled people. However, these points are mostly listed rather than explained, and the restaurant example is unfinished. Most importantly, the task asks about both why people choose self-employment and its disadvantages, but no disadvantages are discussed. The opening also says “I firmly agree,” although the prompt asks for an explanation rather than an agree/disagree position. The response is substantially below the required minimum length, which leaves the ideas and example very underdeveloped. To improve, address both questions directly, explain each main point, and complete a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening paragraph introduces the topic, followed by “On the one hand” to begin a supporting point. This gives the reader some indication of direction. However, the response ends during the restaurant example, so there is no completed development, contrasting paragraph about disadvantages, or conclusion. The opening also groups several ideas together without showing how they relate, and the example trails off at “waiters,” interrupting progression. Use separate paragraphs for the reasons and disadvantages, and connect each claim to an explanation or example. Cohesive phrases such as “One reason is…” and “However, a drawback is…” would help make the relationship between ideas clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some topic-related vocabulary, including “self-employed,” “organisation,” “profit,” “wages,” and “skilled people,” so the general subject is understandable. It also attempts phrases such as “working long hours” and “unique ness,” but several choices or spellings are inaccurate or awkward: “self-employement,” “bussiness,” and “unique ness.” “Public is more attracted to money” is also an unnatural way to express the idea. The short response offers little opportunity to show a broader or more precise range, and some errors make the example harder to follow. Build a bank of accurate business vocabulary and check spelling and collocations; for instance, describe people as “motivated by higher earnings” and a restaurant as offering “distinctive food or service.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a longer opening sentence and a subordinate clause in “because choosing self-employement have various beneficial effects,” showing some effort to combine ideas. However, control is inconsistent. In that clause, the subject “choosing self-employment” requires “has,” and “these statement” needs a plural or singular form that agrees. The sentence beginning “For example” is incomplete: “opening a restaurant … can attract more people … can provide jobs for waiters” does not clearly connect its clauses. Commas are also missing after introductory wording and are incorrectly spaced in places. Aim first for complete, clearly structured sentences, then add varied complex forms. Careful checking of subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation would make the meaning easier to follow.

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

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