Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-18

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 4.5)

THERE IS AN ONGOING TREND ABOUT WHETHER INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE SELF-EMPLOYED OR WORK AT A COMPANY OR ORGANISATION AS AN EMPLOYEE. IN RECENT YEARS, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO BECOME SELF-EMPLOYED RATHER THAN WORK FOR A COMPANY. THIS ESSAY WILL DISCUSS THE REASON BEHIND THIS TREND AND THE DISADVANTAGES OF BEING SELF-EMPLOYED.

STARTING WITH, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS ARE BECOMING SELF-EMPLOYEED, THE REASON BEHIND IT IS THE INCOME WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE GETTING THROUGHTOUT THE YEARS OF HARD WORK COMPANIES AND ORGANISATION ARE NOT PAYING ENOUGH PAYMENT TO SUPPORT THE EMPLOYEES LIFE STYLE.LOW EARNINGS MEANS LOW LIVING STANDARD, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MANY HARD WORKING EMPLOYEES WHO ARE NOT GETTING THE SALARY WHICH THEY ARE CAPABLE OF. ANOTHER REASON IS THAT COMPANIES ARE PRESSURING THE STAFFS TO DO OVERTIME AND NOT GIVING HOLIDAYS. IN THIS CASE, DUE TO EXHAUSTION THERE'S A HIGH CHANCE OF GETTING SERIOUS INDURIES.

FURTHERMORE,THE DRAWBACKS OF THIS CASE IS THAT

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify both the reasons for choosing self-employment and the disadvantages as the two parts of the task, and you give relevant reasons such as inadequate pay and pressure to work overtime. However, the response addresses the task only partially: the disadvantages section stops at “the drawbacks of this case is that” and gives no actual disadvantage of self-employment. The reasons are also asserted rather than explained with examples or supporting detail, and the introduction promises a discussion that the essay does not complete. The response is 156 words, below the required 250, so there is not enough development to answer both questions. Complete each part, explain how each reason affects workers, and add a relevant example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The introduction signals the essay’s two intended topics, and “Another reason” helps distinguish the points about pay and working conditions. These features give the reader some sense of direction. However, the response has no completed conclusion or developed paragraph on the disadvantages of self-employment; it ends abruptly after “Furthermore”. The first body paragraph also combines several claims in a long, difficult-to-follow sequence, with limited explanation of how they connect. The linking phrases “Starting with” and “Furthermore” do not compensate for the missing progression. Organise the response into a clear introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and disadvantages, and a brief conclusion, using transitions that show the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “self-employed”, “overtime”, “salary” and “living standard”, so the main subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or awkward, such as “employees life style”, “not getting enough payment” and “serious induries”. Repetition of “company”, “employees” and “reason” also restricts variety. These errors sometimes make the intended meaning less clear, particularly in the sentence about income and hard work. Build a more precise range for employment and working conditions, and check spelling and collocations. For example, use “insufficient pay” and “work-related injuries” rather than the less natural phrases in the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts some longer sentences and uses a subordinate clause in “although there are many hard working employees…”, showing an effort to go beyond simple statements. However, the range is limited, and errors are frequent enough to make parts difficult to follow. For example, “the reason behind it is the income which employees are getting” has an unclear structure, while “companies and organisation are not paying” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The sentence beginning “Starting with” also runs several ideas together without clear sentence boundaries. There are further issues with articles, plurals and punctuation, including the unfinished final sentence. Practise building accurate sentences around one main idea, then combine them with controlled clauses and consistent punctuation.

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.