Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-19

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)

Today, more individuals have chosen to be self-employed against to work for an organisation or company. This mainly causes citizens to want to earn money without any tax deductions and without a manager. As I work in procurement, I think businesses get more opportunities than working for a company.

A business can help to generate revenues and connections to different peoples. Currently, groups of people prefer to be businessmen because money helps them to buy properties and commercial shops. For instance, a self-employed person will wake up at their own time; they don't have pressure from deadlines or meetings with management.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of being self-employed, such as a business taking a long time to break even and the investment required to run a trade, which is too risky for a starter. One crucial disadvantage is that profit for almost one year will be below zero under the current conditions, especially when people start the business without any plan or growth analysis; the business will not vanish; they all started and asked the informations about business and next day they start the business which is totally wrong.

To conclude, more citizens choose to be self-employed rather than work in a company, I strongly agreed that above statement because people have their own living standard and

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address both questions: you suggest that people seek greater control over their time and income, and you identify start-up investment and slow profitability as disadvantages. However, the response only partially develops these points. The claim about avoiding tax deductions is not explained, and the example about waking at one’s own time does not clearly show how self-employment creates broader opportunities. The disadvantage paragraph contains a potentially relevant point about starting without a plan, but its explanation becomes difficult to follow. The conclusion is unfinished, so your overall position is not clearly completed. The response is also 29 words below the required minimum; use the extra space to explain each reason and give a relevant, specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph about reasons, a paragraph about disadvantages, and a concluding attempt. The contrast marker “On the other hand” helps signal the shift to drawbacks. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, “businesses get more opportunities than working for a company” does not clearly connect to the following point about revenue and connections. The long sentence beginning “One crucial disadvantage” combines several ideas without clear sequencing, while the final sentence stops before completing the conclusion. Organise each paragraph around one main point, then explain it with a clear example and use linking phrases only where they show a genuine relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “self-employed,” “investment,” “break even,” “deadlines,” and “growth analysis,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are unnatural or imprecise, sometimes making the meaning harder to follow. For instance, “against to work” is not a natural way to express the comparison, and “different peoples” is unsuitable for the intended meaning. “The business will not vanish” also does not clearly express the point about a business failing or surviving. Aim for accurate collocations and precise terms, especially when explaining financial risks. Reusing a few topic words is fine, but vary them only when you can do so naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a clause beginning “especially when people start the business without any plan.” However, the range is limited, and errors recur in sentence construction, verb forms, and agreement. “I strongly agreed” does not fit the present-tense conclusion, and “I strongly agreed that above statement” is missing grammatical elements. The sentence beginning “One crucial disadvantage” runs together several clauses, making the relationships between them difficult to understand. The final sentence is incomplete, ending with “and.” Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then add subordinate clauses carefully. Check tense consistency, articles, and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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