Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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)

Employment means doing any job from which one can earn money for their survival and complete or fulfill their basic needs.

Nowadays, people choose to be self employed rather then being employed for or under any organisation or company. Self employment means a person is working with his or her own setup of infrastructure and doing something of his or her own and making money out of it. For example, a tea staller or a shop owner are like self employed persons who run something or their own and earn from it without working under someone else. Self employed persons works for themselves and don't work for others. Self employed persons are like independent employee and employers for their own sake .

Self employment is the case nowadays, and there are couple of reasons for it. First, unemployment which is high around the world, people choose self employment as a result of this. Second, the boom around the world of bussiness culture. Everyone wants to start their own bussiness and startups because of the government's encouragement for this and ease of policies for doing bussiness which in a way to generate more economy and employment opportunities for people.

There is advantage of self employment that it makes a country capitalist and ahead in term of gdp ranking among other nations however, there are disadvantages of it as well. If everyone do self employment then who will get employed for company and organisation and there will be shortage of workers in the factories and industries. If the youth of a country starts to get attracted towards bussiness and startups more, then being employed for big companies then without staff how this companies will run ? Furthermore, there may be the slow down in the economy because of shortage of staff . Apart from this, factories without workers get into loss because of shortage of products been manufactured and ultimately, loss their gdp ranking . Additionally, because of shortage of staff a country might face the problem of more immigration from other countries and thus leaving a country into a multiculture society.

In conclusion, there should be a balance of both this types of employment in a country and in the world to be a top ranker in the bussiness and their ranking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: unemployment and the growth of business culture are offered as reasons, while possible worker shortages and effects on factories are presented as disadvantages. The examples of a tea seller and shop owner help explain what self-employment means. However, the response only partially develops the task. The reasons are asserted rather than illustrated or explained in depth, and the disadvantages focus mainly on what could happen to companies and the national economy, rather than explaining personal risks for self-employed people, such as unstable income or lack of benefits. The conclusion recommends a balance but does not clearly summarise the main points. Develop each answer with a specific explanation or example and keep the discussion closely focused on the question.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. Signposting such as “First,” “Second,” “Furthermore” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the broad stages. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the disadvantages paragraph moves from worker shortages to GDP and then immigration without explaining the links between these points. Some connections are also repetitive, particularly the repeated references to a shortage of staff. The opening definitions take up space without advancing the argument, and the conclusion introduces a general recommendation rather than drawing together the discussion. Group related points and use clearer cause-and-effect links to make the argument progress more smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “self-employment,” “unemployment,” “infrastructure,” “factories,” and “GDP ranking,” and the reader can generally understand your intended meaning. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repeated, especially “self employed,” “business,” and “shortage of staff.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “tea staller,” “ahead in term of GDP ranking,” and “loss their GDP ranking.” Spelling errors in “business” and “multiculture” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise phrases and vary repeated vocabulary; for example, distinguish between “self-employed workers,” “business owners,” and “employees,” rather than using the same label throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including conditional structures such as “If everyone do self employment then who will get employed” and a clause beginning “because of shortage of staff.” These attempts show some range, but complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the argument difficult to follow. Examples include “Self employed persons works,” “If everyone do,” and “how this companies will run,” where subject–verb agreement or plural forms are incorrect. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention: several long sentences join multiple ideas without clear separation. Practise accurate agreement, articles and plural forms, and divide long cause-and-effect sentences into shorter, controlled units before attempting more complex structures.

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