Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-15

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)

Because of social media and content creating in recent years a lot of people want to be self employed instead of work for a company or an organisation.There are alsocertain drawbacks of being self employed we will discuss in next paragraph.

First of all people who chooses self employed over to work in company think they will be their servants like there has not so much freedom of being work in company because if they have their own work they can be free any time. Secondly this case more increases because of social media people choose content creation and can earn money from it and also they can enjoy their freedom as well.

Although there are are certain drawbacks of being self employed you being isolated like you do not work with people or in a company you could miss the interaction of people and their culture and also working in company you can be punctual of your daily life routine and your health will be good.

In conclusion, self employed can make people free bird like they can be anywhere without taken permission from someone. So as I told you some disadvantages like people being in isolation amd not interaction from daily life people of company and not interacting with people and their culture

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: social media and content creation are offered as reasons for self-employment, while isolation and reduced social interaction are identified as disadvantages. However, the response only partially develops these points. For example, the claim that people can “be free any time” is not explained with a concrete example, and the point about routine and health is unclear as a disadvantage. The conclusion repeats earlier ideas rather than adding a clear final position. The response is also 35 words below the required minimum, which limits the space available to explain and support your ideas. Develop each reason with a specific example and explain how each disadvantage affects self-employed workers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph about reasons, a paragraph about disadvantages, and a conclusion. Basic signposting such as “First of all,” “Secondly,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the main sections. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links are repetitive or unclear. The introduction promises to discuss drawbacks “in next paragraph,” while the conclusion repeats isolation and lack of interaction without bringing the discussion together. Some sentences also combine several ideas, making relationships between them difficult to follow. Use one main point per paragraph, connect each explanation directly to that point, and make the conclusion briefly summarise both the reasons and disadvantages.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the central topic, with relevant terms such as “self-employed,” “content creation,” “freedom,” and “isolated.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the intended meaning harder to understand. For instance, “they will be their servants” appears to mean that workers would be their own bosses, while “free bird” is informal and imprecise for an academic essay. “Not interaction from daily life people” is also difficult to interpret. Aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating “freedom” and “people.” Learning topic-specific phrases for independence, income, social contact, and work-life balance would help you express these ideas more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because” and “although,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in agreement and verb forms occur in phrases such as “people who chooses” and “they can be free any time”; the opening also joins sentences without a space or clear punctuation. Some longer sentences become difficult to follow, particularly the sentence beginning “Although there are are certain drawbacks,” where the structure shifts and the ideas are not clearly connected. Use shorter, complete sentences while checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation. Then practise combining ideas with accurate subordinate clauses, rather than joining several points in one sentence.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.