Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-11

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)

In recent year, self-employment has become increasingly popilar. Many people prefer to run their own businesses rather than work for a company or organisation. This essay will discuss the reason behind this trend and the disadvantages of being self- employed.

There are several reasons why people choose to becomes self-employed. The main reason is freedom and flexibility. Self-employed peple can often decide their working hours and choose where to work. This allows them to balance their professional and personal lives more effectively. For example, someone who runs an online business can work from home and spend more time with their family. Another important reason is the opportunity to earn more money. Unlike employees who receive a fixed salary, business owners can increase their income by expanding their businesses. In addition, many people want to follow their passions and becomes their own bosses instead of working under the supervision of others.

However, self-employment also has been disadvantages. The most significant problem is financial uncertainty. Self-employed people do not alway have a regular income, especially when they are strarting their businesses. For instance, a small shop owner may earn less money during periods when there are fewer customers. Another disadvantage is the lack of employee benefits. Unlike, company employees, self-employed individuals may not receive paid holidays, sick leave or other employment benefits. Furthermore, they often have to manage every aspect of their business, including finances, customer service and marketing. As a result, they my experiene stress and have less free time.

In conclusion, people choose self-employment because it offers independence, flexibility and the possibility of higher earnings. Nevertheless, financial insecurity, limited benefits and heavy workloads can make this type of employment challenging. Therefore, people should carefully consider both the advantages and disadvantages before making the decision.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear overall position: self-employment is attractive because of flexibility, earning potential and independence, but it brings financial uncertainty, fewer benefits and heavier workloads. The examples of an online business and a small shop help make the points relevant, and the conclusion summarises the argument consistently. Most ideas are extended with an explanation or consequence. To strengthen the response further, develop the point about following one’s passions with a specific illustration, and qualify the claim that business owners can earn more—for example, by noting that this depends on the business succeeding. This would make the support more precise and reduce generalisation while preserving the clear coverage of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to reasons, disadvantages and a conclusion. Ideas progress logically within each body paragraph: flexibility is explained through work-life balance and an example, while financial uncertainty is illustrated before other drawbacks are added. Linking expressions such as “For example,” “In addition,” “However” and “As a result” generally guide the reader effectively. The organisation is clear throughout, though some transitions are formulaic, and the disadvantages paragraph groups several points in a list-like sequence. To improve cohesion, use more varied links that show the relationship between ideas, and make references between sentences more explicit where needed, rather than relying mainly on standard signposting phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing employment and its consequences, with useful topic-specific phrases such as “financial uncertainty,” “fixed salary,” “paid holidays” and “customer service.” The writer also uses a reasonable range of expressions to explain benefits and drawbacks. However, spelling errors—including “popilar,” “peple,” “strarting” and “experiene”—and some inaccurate or awkward choices reduce precision. For instance, “has become increasingly popular” is more natural than “has become increasingly popilar,” while “self-employment also has disadvantages” is more idiomatic than “self-employment also has been disadvantages.” Aim to check spelling carefully and build control of common collocations and word forms; this would make the otherwise clear vocabulary more accurate and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, and several sentences are controlled well, including “This allows them to balance their professional and personal lives more effectively” and the conditional example about an online business. The response also uses subordinate clauses and contrast structures to explain ideas. Some grammatical errors remain, such as “people choose to becomes” and “many people want to follow their passions and becomes,” where the verb form should be “become.” The construction “self-employment also has been disadvantages” is also faulty, and “Unlike, company employees” has incorrect punctuation after the introductory word. These errors rarely obscure meaning. To progress, proofread verb forms, sentence patterns and punctuation, while continuing to use varied structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.