Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-04

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)

Nowadays, people tend to prefer more to work for themselves than for other's companies or organisations. This essay will demonstrate the reasons behind this choice and what possibly could be the disadvantages.

The primary reasons behind working for yourself are the flexible schedule, people have more leisure time to practise different kinds of sport and hobbies to unwind after work and they can make more income and profits especially for freelancers who can decide the fees for the distinct services they provide and online businesses that grow super quickly. Furthermore, self-imployed people can work from anyplace:home, outdoors... or any quite place can be convenient to work in and that works better for individuals that their occupation's place is far from their place of residence, which can cause transportation problems and delays and many other obstacles that can prevent someone from working in good conditions and ensuring good progress at work along side reducing stress and overthinking about the probable scenarios that may happen.

Although there are many befinitial sides of being self-imployed, there are various disadvantages such us not having a fixed pension as you get older and weaker and that is super risky. Additionaly, you have no work's compensation so no one will take care of your medical bills if anything bad or harmful happened to you at work. Moreover, working for yourself means having no fixed income it's based on your profit and loss.Therefore, nothing is guaranteed and no matter how much you try to calculate and plan for everything.The results can remain ambigious and uncertain most of the time.

To sum up, being self-imployed is a double-edged sword it is both benficial and harmful depending on how you manage your business and how highly you invest in it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and maintain a relevant focus. The reasons you give include flexible working hours, the possibility of higher earnings, and avoiding commuting difficulties; the disadvantages include uncertain income, lack of a fixed pension, and having to cover medical costs. These points show a clear understanding of the task. However, some ideas are asserted rather than explained: for example, the claim that self-employment provides “more leisure time” is not clearly connected to the demands of running a business, and the risks could be illustrated with a specific example. The conclusion summarises the contrast but does not add much to the discussion. Develop the strongest points with clearer cause-and-effect reasoning and relevant examples.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph on reasons, one on disadvantages, and a concluding summary. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “Although,” and “Moreover” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, the reasons paragraph contains several ideas joined into one very long sentence, making the relationships between flexibility, income, and commuting difficult to follow. Some connections are also awkward, as in “Therefore, nothing is guaranteed and no matter how much you try to calculate and plan for everything.” Use shorter sentences and group each main point with its explanation. Check that pronouns and linking phrases clearly refer to the idea intended; this would make the progression smoother and less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “flexible schedule,” “freelancers,” “transportation problems,” “fixed income,” and “profit and loss.” This gives you enough language to discuss both benefits and risks. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “self-imployed,” “befinitial,” “ambigious,” and “any quite place.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “more income and profits” and “no work’s compensation.” Aim for accurate spelling and more conventional collocations, particularly when describing financial security and employment benefits. A wider range of precise terms would help you express the ideas without relying on vague wording such as “anything bad or harmful.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex structures, including a relative clause in “freelancers who can decide the fees” and a conditional idea about problems that may prevent someone from working well. However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully. For example, “The primary reasons … are the flexible schedule, people have more leisure time” joins clauses without a suitable grammatical link, while “no matter how much you try to calculate and plan for everything” is left without a complete main clause. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries, such as “a double-edged sword it is.” Use one main idea per sentence, check that every dependent clause has a complete main clause, and review punctuation around joined clauses. This will make your meaning easier to follow.

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