Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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 choosing to be self-employed instead of working for an organisation is seen very frequently. Where organisations and company hire people however they choose to work remotely according to their comfort.

There as possibilities where the company or the organisation may not be providing the required growth to their employees along with not providing healthy work environment to them. Managers not being considerate about employee's personal matters where they are required. Also not everyone choose to work under any company or an organisation. There are people who wish to create their own firm which also increases employement in the future.

There are numerous disadvantages of being self-employed, some of them include no job stability where the person is working on their own so it is not definite that they will recieve a fixed amount of salary which is not based on the performance. Another being incosistent about the work, for instance working on your own may feel overwhelming hence there are times when one can skip it. Lack of proper guidance can take place if one is self employed. If the person works for an organisation there is a hierarchy where in the salary gradually increases where as in free lancing one can not expect growth unless they keep putting efforts. Resources provided by the company can be helpful to the person however if one works on their own there are chances of not being able to take benefit from it.

To conclude I would say working for an organisation or a company may be better rather than being self-employed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and give a clear overall view in the conclusion that company employment may be preferable. Relevant reasons for self-employment include wanting to establish a firm and dissatisfaction with workplace growth or management; disadvantages include uncertain income, inconsistent work, limited guidance, and fewer resources. However, the reasons for choosing self-employment are less fully explained than the disadvantages, and several points are listed rather than developed. For example, explain how creating a firm offers independence or control, and support the income point with a brief example. The opening also introduces remote work, but does not clearly connect it to why people choose self-employment. Developing and clarifying these ideas would make the response address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a longer paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. This helps the reader identify the two parts of the task. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and the reasons paragraph reads as a series of separate points rather than a connected explanation. Linking phrases such as “There are numerous disadvantages” and “To conclude” are useful, but connections between individual ideas are limited. The sentence beginning “Managers not being considerate…” is also left as a fragment, interrupting the flow. Group related points and explain how each follows from the previous one; clearer referencing and transitions would make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of task-related vocabulary, including “job stability,” “healthy work environment,” “hierarchy,” and “resources,” so the main ideas are generally understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated general terms such as “company,” “organisation,” and “person,” and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward. For instance, “inconsistent about the work” does not clearly express the intended idea, while “take benefit from it” is not a natural collocation. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “employement,” “recieve,” and “incosistent.” Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling carefully; this would make your meaning clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “where” and “if.” However, the range is limited, and complex attempts often contain errors that make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. For example, “Where organisations and company hire people however they choose to work remotely” is not a complete, clearly structured sentence, and “Managers not being considerate…” is a fragment. There are also errors in agreement and sentence construction, as in “not everyone choose” and “There are possibilities where.” Use complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and practise joining clauses with accurate conjunctions. More reliable control of these patterns would improve readability.

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