Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-01

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 7.0)

At the moment a sector of society decide to be self-employed, rather than get a job in a company or organisation. This may be as a result of disrespect from employers and a desire to dictate one's working hours although working for one's self may result in more unpredictable income due to market inconsistencies.

In an attempt to escape abusive working conditions or exploitative employers, salarymen may decide to be self-employed. Employees may feel that their employers do not value their input or reward according to their contributions they may want to escape that under rewarding system. Other people may believe that if they work for themselves they can work less hours or only when they feel like. For instance, a user on reddit commented that the higher-ups are disrespectful to newer members of staff so he would make his own company to escape the torment from his managers.

However, some people do not realise that running blindly into starting a business may be biting off more than they can chew. Being self employed may be good but it is not a bed of roses because the new business may take years of planning and restrategizing before making profit. Many entrepreneurs attest to waiting five years or more before they started reaping the benefits of their labour. Aside from the length of time needed to break-even, some businesses are subject to huge fluctuations in profits like shipping and agricultural businesses because of the nature of the firm many unforseen challenges may alter the revenue meant from the company.

To conclude, in an attempt to escape unfavourable working conditions people may establish their own company, but starting a new business may mean making more sacrifices and having a less reliable inflow.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed. You provide clear reasons such as escaping abusive management and the desire for autonomy, while also identifying significant drawbacks like income instability and the long-term nature of business growth. However, the development of ideas could be more sophisticated; for instance, the example of a 'user on reddit' is slightly informal for an academic task. To reach a higher band, ensure that your supporting examples are more generalized or professional in tone to better support your arguments.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme, which helps the reader follow your argument. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'However' and 'To conclude', to signal transitions. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and there is a reliance on simple linking structures. To improve, try to use a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that referencing (e.g., 'that under rewarding system') is more precise to avoid ambiguity and improve the overall flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'exploitative', 'unpredictable', and 'fluctuations'. There are some minor inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'make his own company' (should be 'start' or 'establish') and 'less hours' (should be 'fewer hours'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. To improve, focus on learning collocations and using more academic synonyms for common verbs and adjectives to enhance the professional tone of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'a sector of society decide' (subject-verb agreement), 'work less hours' (quantifier error), and punctuation issues like the run-on sentence '...contributions they may want to escape...'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and ensure that complex sentences are correctly punctuated with appropriate conjunctions or relative pronouns.

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