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)

Nowadays many people choose to be self employed, rather than to work for a company or organization because they might cannot work under someone. Some people are made to be their on boss. They are not able to work under someone as they are blunt, they cannot utter someones arrogance.

The disadvantage of being self employed is a very slow start. In the beginning it might be risky and difficult to manage everything such as business idea, its formation, advertising, product making, packaging, costing and many more things. Thinking an idea is quite easy rather than executing it. There are various facts to be focused. Developing a team and choosing wisely is difficult.

Now I will share an example of my cousin suddenly started his own restaurant after doing job for 15 years. It was a very difficult task for him. As he was unable to maintain accounts. He was not understanding how to do advertisement for his restaurant. He faced a loss for few months. Still he is on 50 50 scenario. A job person cannot handle the business easily as you have done a single task in your job. But in business you have to understand everything from the idea to the product handling.

In my conclusion, I will prefer doing job if you are not having the ability to do something at your own. You should prefer doing what you can do.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: you suggest that some people prefer independence and describe the risks and workload involved in starting a business. The cousin’s restaurant provides a relevant example, especially regarding accounting, advertising and early losses. However, the reasons for choosing self-employment are only briefly explained, and the disadvantages are listed more than explored; the opening claim about being unable to work under someone is also unclear. Your conclusion gives a preference, but does not fully develop the position. The response is 219 words, so it is 31 words below the required minimum; 16 words copied from the task prompt were not counted. This limits the space available to explain and support your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening, a paragraph about disadvantages, a personal example and a conclusion. The restaurant example follows naturally from the discussion of business challenges, and phrases such as “In the beginning” and “Now I will share an example” help signal movement between points. However, progression is sometimes abrupt: the opening moves from independence to bluntness without explaining the connection, and the final paragraph introduces a personal preference rather than clearly summarising the answer. Some links are repetitive or awkward, including repeated references to working “under someone.” Grouping the reasons for self-employment separately from the disadvantages, then linking each point explicitly, would make the overall progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “self-employed,” “advertising,” “accounts,” “maintain” and “loss,” which allows the reader to understand the main business-related ideas. There are also attempts to express specific concepts, such as “executing” an idea and “developing a team.” However, the range is limited and several choices or phrases are unnatural or unclear, for example “cannot utter someone’s arrogance,” “50 50 scenario” and “a job person.” These expressions make parts of the argument difficult to interpret. Aim for precise, natural collocations and avoid translating expressions directly. A wider set of terms for independence, financial uncertainty and business responsibilities would help you explain the topic more flexibly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a reason clause with “because” and a comparison beginning “rather than.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. For example, “because they might cannot work” combines incompatible verb forms, while “As he was unable to maintain accounts” is a fragment in this context. There are also problems with articles, agreement and sentence construction, as in “a job person cannot handle the business easily as you have done a single task.” Work on forming complete clauses, using modal verbs correctly, and checking tense and subject–verb agreement. Shorter, accurate sentences would improve clarity while you build control of longer forms.

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