Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-23

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 5.5)

Self-employement is a controversial issue today. While some argue that working for a company or an organisation is more benefical, others believe that working for your self is the best choice which I partly agree with.

On one hand, people nowadays perefer self-working over working for a company because it gives more freedom and felixability and you can choose if you work or not, for instance it is so suitable for parents so they can be felixible to watch thier children or taking care of them and also for students so they can go to uni and have a carrer at the same time. Moreover, your efforts matters to you where it can be hard in beginning however with the time all your efforts are fruitful for you not somebody else. Furthermore, self-emplyees don't have to deal with a boss, for instace no one is going to be angry at you if u came late or didnt finish your work. due to all of that self-employement is more desirable than working for someone else's company.

On the other hand, self-employement has a lot of drawbacks. first, it is so stressful and having to deal with pressure more then working for somebody's company because the person have to do all the work perfectly and somtimes alone.

Also, there is no insurance income in self-employement all up to how do you work not like the individuals who work in a company even if they dont finish in time thier income at the end of the month would be distrubed in thier accounts. working at a company make the person more stable and confortable with no extra stress lf falling. As a result, working at a company is better then working for yourself.

In my opinion, self-emplyement is much better and benefical then working at someone else's business.

To sum up, self-employement can be positive for a lot of people who needs to be felixible, however at the same time it is determinal for others. In my opinion, as a student i gravitate towards self-employement.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions by giving reasons for choosing self-employment—flexibility, control over one’s efforts, and freedom from a boss—and by identifying stress and uncertain income as disadvantages. However, the response only partly fulfils the task because these points are mostly asserted rather than explained with specific, relevant examples. The examples about parents and students are useful starting points, but the discussion of effort being “fruitful” and having no boss needs clearer explanation. Your position is also inconsistent: you say you “partly agree,” later call self-employment “much better,” and conclude that it is “determinal for others.” State clearly whether you are explaining why people choose it, rather than arguing that it is generally better, and develop each main point more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast between “On one hand” and “On the other hand” helps readers follow the two sides, and examples are placed alongside relevant points. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “Also,” and several ideas are joined into long sentences without clear boundaries. The conclusion also repeats the preference for self-employment without resolving the conflicting views in the introduction and body. Use clearer topic sentences, separate distinct supporting points, and make references such as “all of that” more precise to improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “flexibility,” “pressure,” “income,” and “stable,” and you attempt phrases such as “gravitate towards.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors make parts of the response harder to read, for example “self-employement,” “benefical,” “felixability,” and “insurance income.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “your efforts matters to you” and “income … would be distrubed in thier accounts.” Aim for accurate topic-specific collocations, such as “irregular income” and “financial stability,” and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise vocabulary would help you explain the advantages and risks without relying on repeated general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “because,” “so,” and “even if.” This shows an effort to vary sentence structure, but complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “your efforts matters” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “the person have to do all the work” also needs agreement. In “if u came late or didnt finish,” the conditional form and punctuation are not controlled, and “how do you work” is not correctly embedded in the sentence. Sentence boundaries are also unclear in places, particularly after “accounts.” Practise accurate agreement, embedded questions, conditional forms, and punctuation before extending sentence length.

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