Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

Nowadays, people increasingly wants to be self-employed, rather than working for a company or organization. This is because of unnecessary stress in working for others and poor salaries. Other reson may be lack of freedom at work and poor insentives. This essary discuss both the problem and disadvantages of being self- self-employed.

On the one hand, there are several reasons why many people wants to works for themselves is because of independence and flexiblity. Many people dot

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify possible reasons for choosing self-employment, including stress, low salaries, limited freedom and a desire for independence and flexibility. However, the response only begins to address the first question and does not explain the disadvantages of self-employment at all. The ideas are listed rather than developed with reasons or examples, and the final sentence is incomplete, so the reader cannot see how you would answer the task as a whole. The response also falls substantially short of the required 250 words, which limits how fully you can address both questions. To improve, explain each main point and include a relevant example, then give a separate, developed discussion of disadvantages such as unstable income or lack of employee benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is an attempt to organise the response: the opening introduces reasons, and “On the one hand” signals the start of a body paragraph. This gives the reader a basic sense of direction. However, the progression is not sustained: the introduction promises discussion of both the problem and disadvantages, but the body shifts to independence and flexibility and then stops mid-thought at “Many people dot”. The ideas are not connected or explained, and the paragraphing does not yet create a complete argument. Build a clear sequence by grouping reasons in one paragraph and disadvantages in another, using linking phrases to show how each explanation or example relates to the main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “self-employed”, “independence”, “flexibility”, “stress” and “salaries”. These terms make the general subject understandable. However, the range is narrow and several spelling or word-form errors reduce accuracy, such as “reson”, “insentives” and “essary”. Some phrasing is also unclear or unnatural, particularly “This essary discuss both the problem”. Aim to use a wider set of precise expressions and check spelling carefully. For example, you could describe “poor salaries” as “low wages” or “limited earning potential”, and refer to “lack of freedom at work” as “limited autonomy”.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both simple statements and a more complex opening clause, as in “This is because of unnecessary stress in working for others and poor salaries.” However, errors in basic sentence structure and agreement are frequent enough to make parts difficult to follow. For example, “people increasingly wants” should use a plural verb, while “many people wants to works” contains errors in both agreement and verb form. The sentence “This essary discuss…” is not grammatically complete, and the final fragment leaves the paragraph unfinished. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and infinitive forms—for example, “many people want to work for themselves.”

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.