Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-13

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)

In today's world numerous individuals are opting to be self-employed instead of offering services to a company or organization. In my opinion, this trend is rising because individuals want freedom and flexibility in their life and work.

To begin, there are multiple potential causes of self-employment. In modern era, individuals want freedom but working for any boss comes with rules and regulations such as punctuality. If an employee arrives late to work, the boss will certainly take an action against him. For this reason, individuals want to be their own boss and work according to their suitable time schedule. When a person chooses to do business, he would have flexibility and would not be answerable to any other person. They would work in their own unique method and would have a chance to showcase their potential. Another significant cause of self-employment is that people might be able to make more money from their business. Instead of relying on a specific digit salary, the income depends on how many hours they work and with how much dedication they perform their duty with. So, when a person starts his own business there are more chances to flourish and thrive financially.

Despite all of the advantages of being self-employed, it is not without its disadvantages and there are certain negative aspects of this trend. The major drawback is that sometimes business can face setbacks. In such circumstances, individual can face money crisis and would not able to manage his expenses, this loss can lead to debt. On the other hand, people who work for an organization receive their salaries on time no matter what the condition is. Another drawback could be excessive responsibility and burden. When a person works in a company, roles and duties are assigned to multiple people according to their expertise. But being self-employed, a person has to manage everything by himself and he would not able to collaborate and discuss with other team members. When a person is overburdened he may feel stressed which will ultimately affect his productivity and quality of work. For this reason, an individual must weigh pros and cones of self-employment and choose wisely what suits his personality and circumstances well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear focus: it explains the appeal of independence and flexible scheduling, then discusses financial uncertainty and the burden of handling multiple responsibilities. The examples about a boss responding to lateness and a business setback make the points relevant, while the contrast with regular salaries helps clarify the financial risk. The explanation of earning more is less fully supported, however: the claim that income depends on hours and dedication does not explain when self-employment is likely to be more profitable. The discussion of responsibility is also somewhat general. To strengthen the response, develop these points with a specific example or explain the conditions that make each outcome likely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear progression from the reasons for self-employment to its disadvantages, with separate paragraphs for each main part of the task. Linking phrases such as “To begin,” “Another significant cause,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the argument, and the conclusion returns to the need to weigh the options. Some connections are less smooth because ideas are sometimes joined in long sentences, particularly the discussion of financial setbacks and debt. The repeated use of “When a person” also makes the paragraphing feel somewhat formulaic. Use a wider range of referencing and vary sentence openings, while making the relationship between each claim and its explanation more explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for explaining the topic, and the response attempts some less common expressions, including “setbacks,” “flourish,” “thrive financially,” and “overburdened.” These choices help convey the main ideas, but some wording is imprecise or does not collocate naturally. For example, “specific digit salary” is unclear, “take an action against him” is awkward, and “money crisis” is less natural than a standard expression for financial difficulty. There is also repetition of “individuals,” “person,” and “work.” Aim for more precise business-related vocabulary and check common word partnerships; this would make the argument sound more fluent without requiring unnecessarily complex terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including conditional clauses (“If an employee arrives late…”) and contrastive sentences beginning “Despite” and “But.” Meaning remains clear overall, though some grammatical errors occur. For example, “In modern era” needs an article, “individual can face money crisis” has a missing article, and “would not able to manage” needs “be” before “able.” Pronoun reference also shifts between singular “a person” and plural “they,” as in “When a person chooses… They would work…”. Review articles, auxiliary verbs, and consistent pronoun agreement, then proofread longer sentences for complete and well-formed clauses. More accurate control of these patterns would strengthen the range already attempted.

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