Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-24

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, many people prefer to become self-employed rather than work for a company or organization. This is mainly because independent worker offers greater independence and flexibilty, although it can also result in financial insecurity and increased responsibility.

On the one hand, the main reason why people choose self employment is the more autonomy and choice it provides. Entrepreneur individual can decide their working hours, and choose clients according to their interest and the type of work they wish to do. Unlike employees, they do not have to follow strict workplace rules and report directly to manager. As a result, they can organise their professional and personal lives according to their own preferences and may achieve a better work-life balance. For example, a freelance graphic designer can work from home, choose suitable projects and arrange their working schedule around their personal commitments.

On the other hand, being business owner can have several disadvantages, particulaly financial instability and enhance commitments. Unlike employes who usually recieve monthly salar, own-account people may experience fluctuations in their income, especially when they have fewer clients and their business performs poorly. Furthermore, they are managing different affairs of their business such as advertisments, finances, customer services and administration. this can create considerable stress and may leave them little time for personal activities. For instance, a small business owner may have to deal with accounting, marketing and customer complaints while also provide services to clients which can become overwhelming.

In conclusion, people often choose independent professionals because it give them greater independence and adaptability in their working lives. However, it can also expose them to economic uncertainity and greater professional obligation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task directly, discussing both the reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The introduction clearly sets out the writer's position. In the body paragraphs, relevant ideas are presented, such as flexibility, autonomy, financial insecurity, and increased administrative responsibility. These ideas are extended and supported with appropriate explanations and relevant examples, such as the mention of a freelance graphic designer and a small business owner. Although some points could be expanded further for maximum depth, the task is fully covered, fulfilling all requirements of the prompt successfully, which corresponds well to the descriptors for Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay is clearly organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, two distinct body paragraphs addressing the prompt's two main questions, and a concluding summary. The progression of ideas throughout the text is generally clear and easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Unlike employees', and 'In conclusion' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the arguments. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively. However, occasional minor referencing issues or awkward transitional phrasing keep the response from reaching higher bands, aligning it firmly with Band 7 standards.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to discuss the topic with some flexibility and precision, employing terms such as 'autonomy', 'financial instability', 'administrative', and 'work-life balance'. Less common items are attempted, showing an awareness of collocations and professional contexts. However, there are some noticeable word choice and morphological errors throughout the text, such as 'independent worker' instead of 'independent work', 'Entrepreneur individual' instead of 'Entrepreneurial individuals', and 'enhance commitments' instead of 'enhanced commitments'. Despite these minor lexical inaccuracies, the vocabulary used is adequate to convey meaning clearly without impeding communication, fitting the Band 6 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an ability to construct compound and subordinate structures, such as 'Unlike employees, they do not have to follow strict workplace rules...' and '...especially when they have fewer clients and their business performs poorly.' There are, however, several grammatical errors present, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'independent worker offers' and 'it give them', as well as missing articles ('provide services' instead of 'providing services') and minor punctuation slips. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the arguments without confusion. This positions the writing at Band 6.

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