Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-29

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)

Nowadays many people in the world want to work for themselves rather than to work for a company or organisations because they want to become more financially independent.

To begin with, many people don't like to work someone under pressure they like to work independently. They thought if they work for themselves they will become a successful person. Moreover, this type of people feel more comfortable while working for themselves. Therefore, the main advantages of work for themselves is when they want to take break from work so they should took a break and relax themselves.For instance, in my city my cousin start work for himself but in the beginning he faced many difficulties in the result now he became a successful person im my family. Therefore, those people who go abroad for work they also don't like to work under someone so, they start there own business in abroad.

On the other hand, there are also many disadvantages of being self employed because people faced many challenges in this way.

First of all they have not enough money to start their own business secondly, they have not any experience for the business. In the beginning, the they make many attempt dor success but they failed in their attempts however, one day they achieved their goals and succeeded.

In conclusion, working for themselves is better rather than working for someone. Additionally, choosing to self employed is give us many benefits rather than working someone else.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both questions: you suggest that people value independence and comfort, and you mention financial and experience-related challenges. However, the reasons are only briefly explained, and the disadvantages are not fully explored; for example, “not enough money” and “not any experience” are listed without showing how they affect a self-employed person. The cousin’s story is relevant, but its outcome is unclear and does not provide much support for the general points. Your conclusion also says self-employment is better without weighing its drawbacks. The response is 237 words, so it is 13 words below the 250-word minimum; the eight words copied from the task prompt were not counted. Develop each main idea with explanation or a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure, with an opening, a paragraph about reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. This helps the reader identify the two parts of the task. However, progression within paragraphs is not always clear: the first body paragraph moves from independence to taking breaks, then to your cousin and people working abroad, without explaining how these points connect. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Therefore,” and “On the other hand” are used, but some are repetitive or do not show the relationship accurately. For example, “Therefore” introduces the cousin’s example rather than a clear result. Group related ideas, use clearer references, and make each paragraph develop one central point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough basic vocabulary to communicate the main topic, including “financially independent,” “challenges,” “experience,” and “succeeded.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or unnatural, which makes some ideas less clear. “Work for themselves” appears repeatedly, while “work someone under pressure” and “take break from work” do not express the intended meanings naturally. There are also spelling and word-form errors, such as “im” and “there own,” which reduce accuracy. Aim to use more precise expressions for the benefits and risks of self-employment, and check spelling and collocations. For instance, describe the freedom to manage one’s schedule rather than repeating that people work for themselves.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use basic clauses to explain reasons and contrast, but the range is limited and errors are frequent enough to make parts difficult to follow. Examples include “They thought if they work for themselves they will become” and “choosing to self employed is give us,” where verb forms and sentence structure are faulty. Agreement and tense are also inconsistent in “my cousin start” and “now he became.” Articles and plurals need attention, as in “take break” and “many attempt.” Punctuation is often missing, especially where sentences run together. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with controlled clauses using “because,” “although,” and “if.”

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