Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

In today's era, many people belive that self- employed is best choice while, some of them want to work for company or organisation. This essay will discuss both openions and also shared my point of view.

There are a lot of benefits of self-employed or owning business. For addtion, business can expand and generate more revenue. For example, my friend start their own marketing company and use his all experience in his company, after so many efforts he can earn a handsome amaount and become a sucessfull business man. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of being self-employed. Any start-up needs investment and also required a good experience. Furthermore, there are so many chances that new business can't grow or failed. I know on of my friend who start a resturant after quitting a job of graphic designer, but he closed the shop becouse, business want more and more investment to maintain environment and quality. At the end he give up due to lack of money.

So many poeple want to work for a comoany or organisation. There are some benefits like, you do not have to worry about anything of company, just do your own work. I know one of my close friend who love thier job. He will earn nice amaount and facilated by a company. But there are also some negative point, like ha will stuck in that situation, no future emprovement and listen every to every senior of your work place.

In conclusion, both have some advantages and disadvantages, but I choose self-emploeyed as compared to being a worker. Moreover, if you are a person who can not afford risk in life and accept his lifestyle so, he can go for a job.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and give a clear preference for self-employment in the conclusion. The examples about your friend’s marketing company and the restaurant illustrate both the potential for higher earnings and the risk of losing money, so the response is relevant to the task. However, the reasons people choose self-employment are not fully explained: the essay mainly describes possible benefits rather than why people prefer this option, such as independence or control over working hours. The disadvantages are more clearly illustrated, but the point about investment and business failure could be developed further. Your discussion of company employment is relevant background, though it takes space from the two questions and is not required.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure, with an introduction, separate discussion of self-employment and company work, and a conclusion. The contrast markers “On the other hand” and “Moreover” help signal relationships between ideas, and the examples generally follow the points they support. However, the progression is not always focused: the paragraph about working for a company shifts away from the two questions, and the opening promises to discuss “both opinions” without clearly setting out the essay’s direction. Some links are mechanical or unclear, such as “For addition” and “But there are also some negative point.” Organise the body around the two task questions and use clearer links between each reason, explanation and example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “self-employed,” “investment,” “revenue,” “start-up,” and “maintain,” which allows you to discuss business risks and rewards. There are also attempts at more specific expressions such as “handsome amount.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause: “belive,” “openions,” “amaount,” and “facilated” are examples. Several phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, including “business can expand and generate more revenue” as a reason for choosing self-employment, and “stuck in that situation” for limited career progression. Build accuracy with common collocations and check spelling; for example, use “run a business,” “earn a steady income,” and “limited opportunities for advancement.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and longer sentences, including clauses with “while,” “but,” and “who,” and most of the main ideas remain understandable. However, there are some recurring errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “my friend start their own marketing company” needs a consistent subject and tense, while “he closed the shop” is followed by “At the end he give up,” which shifts tense. The sentence beginning “Moreover, if you are a person…” is difficult to control and ends with an unclear pronoun reference. Review subject–verb agreement, past-tense consistency and sentence boundaries, and aim to make complex sentences accurate before adding further clauses.

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