Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-13
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)
As far as this topic is concerned, many people nowadays prefer to be self-employed rather than work for a company or organisation. There are several reasons for this trend, although self-employment also has some disadvantages.
Firstly, one major reason is that self-employed people have greater freedom and flexibility. They can choose their working hours, decide how to run their business and make their own decisions. Moreover, they do not have to follow strict rules or work under a manager. For example, a person can start an online business and work from home according to their own schedule. In addition, successful self-employed people can earn more money than employees.
On the other hand, self-employment can involve several disadvantages. The main problem is financial uncertainty because income may not be regular. Unlike employees, self-employed people may not receive a fixed salary or paid holidays. Furthermore, they are responsible for finding customers, managing expenses and dealing with business problems. This can create stress and require a great deal of time and effort.
In conclusion, people choose self-employment mainly because it provides freedom, flexibility and the possibility of higher earnings. However, financial uncertainty, increased responsibility and work-related stress are major disadvantages of being self-employed.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student addresses both parts of the prompt directly, identifying reasons why people choose self-employment (freedom, flexibility, potential for higher earnings) and outlining the disadvantages (financial uncertainty, increased responsibility, stress). Ideas are relevant and supported with a clear example regarding online businesses. However, the response falls significantly short of the required word count, containing only 200 words instead of the minimum 250. This under-length issue prevents full development of the ideas and directly limits the task achievement score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The text demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs addressing reasons and disadvantages respectively, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices are used appropriately to guide the reader through the arguments, such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'On the other hand', and 'In addition'. Referencing is clear and unambiguous throughout the short essay, resulting in a well-structured framework even though the length is restricted.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student employs an adequate and relevant range of vocabulary for the topic, using terms such as 'self-employed', 'financial uncertainty', 'flexible', and 'responsibilities'. While the vocabulary is generally appropriate and allows the message to be communicated clearly, it tends to be standard and lacks more sophisticated or less common lexical items. There are no notable spelling or word-choice errors, but the range remains somewhat limited.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0
The writing exhibits a good control of grammar with a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Although self-employment also has some disadvantages' and 'Unlike employees, self-employed people may not receive a fixed salary'. Sentences are generally accurate, and punctuation is handled well. There are very few grammatical errors present in the text, meaning the majority of sentences are error-free and communication is never impeded.
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