Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-02

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)

Nowdays many people believe to start their own business, rather than working in corporate from 9 - 5 jobs. There are many concerns related to this. This essay will cover its both advantages and disadvantages.

Nowdays with the advancement of technology, many new business ideas have been developed. New people want to start their own brand or business. To some extend it is a great initiative. For example freelancing, small home made items businesses. Like in Pakistan, small businesses are getting famous and many influencer launch their own products. First of all it is budget friendly. You dont need high investment. It is time flexible. You do not have to work under someone supervision. No limited salary, financial independence. It does not require a big team of workers.

Despite its advantages, there are many disadvantages. You should be ready to face any kind of loss. Required a lot of courage to be committed and be ready to take risks. Income is not set sometimes its not upto your expectations. You need to be patient. Things take time, you have to develop your good impression.High coompetition in the market. No fixed timing, means you should always available for the clients. Running your own business means you have to manage things own your own.

In conclusion to that, having your own business is a good thing but it comes with a lot of stress. Sometimes it is giving you good result but ended up with loss. You need to have experience before you start any company. We should always be ready for its consequences.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both parts of the question: you suggest reasons for self-employment, including flexibility, independence and the possibility of financial freedom, and identify risks such as unstable income, competition and stress. These are relevant points, and the Pakistan-based example of influencers launching products helps make the discussion concrete. However, the reasons are not always fully explained: for instance, “budget friendly” and “no limited salary” are asserted without showing how they motivate people to choose this work. The disadvantages are somewhat more clearly listed, but several remain brief. The introduction also promises to cover “advantages and disadvantages,” rather than directly framing the two questions. Develop fewer points with clearer explanations and examples to make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. The contrast marker “Despite its advantages” helps signal the shift between the main sections, and the ideas are generally grouped appropriately. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes list-like: the reasons move quickly from low investment to flexibility, independence and team size without showing how these points connect. Some linking is mechanical, particularly “First of all” followed by a series of short statements. The conclusion repeats the general view rather than drawing together the main reasons and risks. Use clearer links between related ideas and develop a logical sequence within each paragraph; also make references such as “its” more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, including “financial independence,” “committed,” “take risks,” “competition” and “consequences.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and the examples of freelancing and small businesses show an attempt to use topic-specific language. However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “working in corporate,” “time flexible,” “good impression” and “manage things own your own.” Spelling errors, including “Nowdays,” “coompetition” and “upto,” also reduce accuracy. Some wording is repetitive, especially the repeated references to “business” and “own.” Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling carefully; this will make your meaning clearer and your vocabulary more flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the main points using a mixture of simple statements and some longer structures, such as “Despite its advantages, there are many disadvantages” and “Sometimes it is giving you good result but ended up with loss.” The overall meaning is usually understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. Examples include “You dont need high investment,” “under someone supervision,” and “you should always available,” where articles, possessives or verb forms are missing. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent: “Things take time, you have to develop your good impression.High coompetition in the market” joins or separates ideas awkwardly. Practise accurate sentence construction, especially articles, verb forms and possessives, and use full stops to separate complete thoughts. More reliable control of these patterns would strengthen the response.

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