Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-07-26

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 6.5)

Nowadays, there are so many people who are working remotely. More and more people are choosing to work as per their comfort. They want to earn more money because a job cannot make someone very rich. Additionally, people want to live a classy life which includes owning expensive cars, villas and doing foreign trips. Self-employment gives the opportunity to earn more money by doing small businesses, doing multiple jobs while maintaining a flexible work schedule, working as a freelancer and working for foreign clients. People don't want to do a 9 to 5 job. They want to work as per their time. Furthermore, they don't like to report and take orders from the higher authorities. People want to work from remote locations such as mountains and beaches, so that they can focus on their mental health as well as their career. A standard job will not provide that benefit.

Conversely, there are numerous disadvantages of being a self-employed person. There will be no fixed income. In the corporate or government jobs, people get fixed salaries, bonuses, insurance and great exposure to work with talented and experienced staff which will help to develop communication skills and overall personality. A job provides security and stability, whereas self-employment will not provide any of the above benefits. In addition, an individual has to manage everything alone. The compition is insane, margins are reducing day by day, situation is very volatile. Often in the socity, a person who has a stable job gets more respect than a person with some small business.

However, working in a company or working as a self-employed person, both have some perks and some drawbacks. Therefore, it is good to follow your own thoughts, beliefs and take decision as per your future goals.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the disadvantages involved. The ideas are relevant, such as the desire for flexibility and the lack of financial stability. However, the development is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'earning more money' is asserted but not deeply explored, and the disadvantages are listed rather than fully expanded with concrete examples. To reach a higher band, you should provide more detailed explanations and specific illustrations for each point. The position is clear, but the overall depth of the argument remains at a mid-level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'Additionally', 'Furthermore', and 'Conversely' to link sentences. However, the flow between sentences can feel a bit mechanical or repetitive, particularly in the first paragraph where many sentences start with 'People' or 'They'. To improve, try to vary your sentence starters and use a wider range of linking phrases to connect ideas more fluidly. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the transition between the two main body paragraphs could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'volatile', 'freelancer', and 'corporate'. However, there are some instances of imprecise word choice and minor spelling errors, such as 'compition' (competition) and 'socity' (society). Additionally, some phrasing is slightly informal or simplistic, such as 'classy life' or 'doing small businesses'. To achieve a higher score, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure spelling accuracy. Expanding your vocabulary to include more sophisticated synonyms for common words will also help elevate your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'doing small businesses' (should be 'running small businesses') and 'take decision' (should be 'make decisions'). There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, focus on mastering common verb-noun collocations and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly with articles and pluralisation.

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