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)

At present, people around the world prefer to be self-employed rather than work for a company or organisation, because they prefer to be independent, and the job sector is quite volatile.

After completing graduation, a person used to look for a secured nine-to-five job as a mean of his or her living. To secure a job, employees have to go through a number of steps, like applying for the job, being shortlisted, and going through interviews. These still would not guarantee the job. Nowadays, AIs have been replacing humans in different job sectors. So, people are becoming more independent and starting their own businesses as entrepreneurs, rather than depending on CEOs of big companies to hire employees. For example, a PhD holder in computer science in the USA has been looking for a job for more than two years, with no fruitful results. He has applied to a variety of jobs. In the end, he decided to start his own business, being tired of waiting for another two years.

Being self-employed comes with a bunch of problems as well. It might exacerbate the unemployment problem, because business ideas might not always work. Especially for the middle class and the lower middle class, they might not have enough money to invest in a new business plan. One might get a loan in such a case, but it is not always feasible to get one. One might even have to deal with huge interest payments

Because of AI, the security of employement has decreased. So, people are moving towards self-employ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions and give a relevant explanation for choosing self-employment: difficulty securing jobs, including the example of the computer-science PhD graduate. You also identify financial risk, failed business ideas and loan interest as disadvantages. However, the reasons are not developed evenly. The discussion of job insecurity and AI is clearer than the disadvantages, which end before explaining how these risks affect a self-employed person. The final sentence repeats the AI point but is cut off, so it does not provide a complete conclusion or reinforce your overall response. Develop the disadvantages with a specific consequence or example, and finish with a complete summary that directly answers both parts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph explaining why people choose self-employment, and a paragraph on its disadvantages. Examples and linking expressions such as “For example,” “So,” and “but” help readers follow individual points. However, progression is weakened by the abrupt ending: “people are moving towards self-employ” is incomplete and repeats an earlier idea rather than concluding. The disadvantages paragraph also moves quickly from unemployment to investment and loans without fully showing how these points connect. Use clearer paragraph development, link each disadvantage to its consequence, and ensure the final paragraph or sentence completes the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “self-employed,” “volatile,” “entrepreneurs,” “invest,” and “interest payments.” Some less common choices help express the topic, although a few phrases are imprecise or informal: “a bunch of problems,” “fruitful results,” and “as a mean of his or her living.” There are also spelling and word-form slips, notably “employement,” and the final word is incomplete. These do not prevent the main ideas from being understood, but they reduce precision and polish. Choose more natural collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, describe employment as a “source of income” and refer to “significant challenges” rather than “a bunch of problems.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including the conditional “business ideas might not always work” and the clause “because they prefer to be independent.” Most sentences communicate their main meaning, but some grammatical choices are inaccurate. For example, “a person used to look” does not clearly express the intended general past habit, and “as a mean of his or her living” has an incorrect noun form and article pattern. The sentence beginning “Especially for the middle class…” is also awkwardly constructed, while the final sentence is incomplete. Use consistent tense for general statements, check articles and noun forms, and proofread sentence boundaries so each thought is complete.

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