Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-23

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, an increasing number of people choose to become self-employed instead of working for a company or organisation. This trend can be explained by several factors, although self-employment also has some significant disadvantages.

One major reason why people prefer self-employment is freedom and flexibility. Self-employed people can usually decide their working hours, choose the projects they want to work on, and make their own business decisions. This can help them maintain a better balance between their professional and personal lives. Another reason is the possibility of earning more money. While employees generally receive a fixed salary, self-employed people can increase their income by attracting more customers or expanding their businesses. For example, a skilled graphic designer may earn considerably more by working directly with international clients than by working for a small local company.

However, being self-employed also has several disadvantages. The most significant one is financial uncertainty. Unlike employees, self-employed people may not have a regular monthly income, particularly when they are starting their business. They may also have to deal with business expenses such as rent, equipment, taxes and advertising. In addition, self-employed workers often have to manage many responsibilities themselves, including finding customers, completing work and dealing with financial matters. As a result, they may experience considerable stress and have less free time.

In conclusion, people may choose self-employment because it offers greater freedom, flexibility and potentially higher income. Nevertheless, financial instability and the additional responsibilities involved can make self-employment challenging. Therefore, people should carefully consider both the benefits and risks before choosing this type of career.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response fully addresses all parts of the task by clearly explaining why people choose self-employment and discussing its potential disadvantages. The position is well maintained throughout the essay. The reasons provided, such as freedom, flexibility, financial uncertainty, and additional responsibilities, are well-developed and supported with relevant examples, such as the mention of a skilled graphic designer working with international clients. The ideas are extended adequately, fulfilling the requirements for the higher band descriptors. The response demonstrates a clear understanding of the prompt without any noticeable omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information and ideas are coherently structured, with each paragraph having a clear central topic. For instance, the introduction outlines the scope of the essay, the second paragraph addresses the reasons for self-employment, and the third paragraph tackles the disadvantages. Cohesive devices are used appropriately, such as 'One major reason', 'Another reason', 'However', and 'In addition', ensuring smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively to group related ideas together.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary that allows for flexibility and precision. Terms such as 'financial uncertainty', 'professional and personal lives', and 'business expenses' demonstrate a good control of topic-specific vocabulary. Less common items like 'considerably more' and 'significant disadvantages' are used with an awareness of style and collocation. There are no noticeable spelling or word-choice errors, and the vocabulary is adequate to convey precise meanings clearly throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response exhibits a good variety of complex structures alongside simple sentence forms. Sentences such as 'Self-employed people can usually decide their working hours, choose the projects they want to work on, and make their own business decisions' showcase good control over coordination and relative clauses. There are frequent error-free sentences, and punctuation is handled accurately. Grammatical accuracy is high, with only very minor or no errors present, which allows the reader to follow the arguments without any difficulty.

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