Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-26

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)

Today we will talk about why many people choose to be self employed rather than to work for a company or organisation,reasons behind it ,and disadvantages of being self employed.

The reason behind why people choose to be self-employed rather than to work for a company or organisation could be many but we will talk about two main reasons.First main reason why people choose self employee rather than to work for organisation is that they want to work in freedom and want to be their own boss so that they dont have to follow anyone's orders.For example self employeed person dont have to follow strict rules and routine he /she can work freely without any pressure.Another big reason is that the chances of growth or promotion in an organisation are low or slow .in many cases you dont get promotion for your work someone else will take the credit of your hard work.for example you spend overtime and complete some project with in time but your manager gets the credit for it and got promoted,in this case you will feel

There are severel disadvantages of being self employeed ,all the work load and pressure is on your own .You dont have any other benefits rather than job ,you dont have any job security,anothe major disadvantage is that you don't have fix salary it totally depends on you project if you have you will get paid other wise no salary.If you work for an organisation there will be fix timings like 9-5 and on overtime you will have bonuses and other rewards but in self employed there will be no such thing like no fix timings and rewards.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and give relevant reasons: independence and the possibility of slow or unfair promotion in organisations. You also identify disadvantages, including workload, lack of security and uncertain income. However, several points are asserted rather than fully explained, and the second reason is framed mainly as dissatisfaction with promotion rather than a clear explanation of why self-employment is attractive. The example about a manager taking credit is relevant, but it ends unfinished (“in this case you will feel”), leaving the idea incomplete. The response is 248 words, so it falls two words short of the required minimum; this contributes to the limited development. Explain each point more fully and complete the example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation: the opening introduces the topic, the main body gives reasons, and a later paragraph discusses disadvantages. Signposting such as “First main reason,” “Another big reason” and “There are several disadvantages” helps readers follow the broad structure. However, progression is weakened by long, crowded sentences, repeated wording and abrupt transitions. The first paragraph is an announcement rather than a clear overview, and the example about promotion stops mid-thought. The final comparison between employment and self-employment combines several ideas without clear separation. Use distinct paragraphs for the reasons and disadvantages, develop one point at a time, and use linking phrases to show how examples support each claim.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “self-employed,” “job security,” “promotion,” “work load” and “salary.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “work for an organisation” and “self-employed.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “self employee,” “chances of growth,” “with in time” and “you project.” Spelling errors, including “severel,” “employeed” and “anothe,” also make the writing less fluent to read. Aim for more precise expressions and check spelling carefully; for example, describe “career progression” and “irregular income” rather than relying on repeated general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, including the explanation beginning “Another big reason,” but control is inconsistent, and many sentences contain errors that can make the reader pause. Examples include “self employeed person dont have,” where the article, agreement and verb form are faulty, and “if you have you will get paid,” which lacks a clear grammatical structure. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also often unclear: the opening runs several clauses together, while the promotion example ends with an incomplete clause. Most structures are simple, with limited accurate variety. Practise forming complete sentences, checking subject–verb agreement and verb forms, and using full stops to separate ideas.

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