Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-26

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)

Rather than working for a company or organization, people choose to be self-employed. One of the reasons behind choosing self-employment is flexible timing, but there could be several disadvantages of self-employment too.

Flexible timing is one of the reasons people prefer being self-employed. This helps them maintain work-life balance. Nowadays, work is getting more and more demanding, consuming a large proportion of a workers day. This leaves little or no time for the employees to spend with their families. Sometimes employees also have to miss important functions of their household because they did not get a leave. All these things create problems within families. Self-employment protect people from such problems as people can set their own work schedule and be there for their family. For example, a person having their own business can leave their workplace if there is any important function in their family.

However, there could be a lot of disadvantages along with the benefits of being self-employed. Self-employment might increase work load as there is only one person working. A single person has to look after sales, advertisment, manufacturing and distribution. In addition to increased work load, people might have to bear all the loss themselves. There is no partner to bear the loss with them or any other employee to blame. This makes self-employment more risky than working for a company or organization because you will get a fixed salary despite the loss a company faces but when you are self-employed, a loss might mean no salary.

In conclusion, we can say that self-employment has its benefits like flexible timing, but there are multiple disadvantages like bearing entire loss and increase in workload.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear focus: flexible scheduling is given as a reason for choosing self-employment, while heavier workloads and personal financial risk are identified as disadvantages. The family example helps explain how control over working hours can be useful, and the comparison with a fixed salary makes the financial point relevant. These ideas are extended with cause-and-effect explanation, which supports the response well. To strengthen the discussion further, develop the reasons people choose self-employment beyond flexibility, or add a more specific example to the disadvantages. The claim that one person must handle every business function is also somewhat general, as this depends on the type and scale of the business. Overall, the main ideas are clear and supported, though some could be more fully qualified or developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear overall progression: an introduction presents the main points, the first body paragraph explains a reason for self-employment, the second discusses disadvantages, and the conclusion summarises them. Paragraphing is appropriate, and linking expressions such as “However,” “In addition to,” and “For example” help readers follow the argument. The explanation within each body paragraph generally moves logically from a claim to its consequences. Some connections are less smooth, however: “All these things create problems within families” refers broadly to the preceding examples, and the shift from workload to financial loss could be signposted more clearly. The conclusion also repeats the main points rather than drawing them together. More varied referencing and transitions between related ideas would make cohesion more flexible and less formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing employment and business, with relevant terms such as “work-life balance,” “work schedule,” “distribution,” “fixed salary,” and “bear the loss.” These choices make the main points understandable, and the writer shows some ability to use topic-specific language. However, the range is somewhat repetitive: “self-employment” and “loss” recur often, while phrases such as “a lot of disadvantages” and “work is getting more and more demanding” are broad rather than precise. There are also word-choice, form, and spelling issues, including “advertisment” and “work load.” Aim for more precise collocations and a wider range of expressions for business risks and workload. These improvements would add flexibility and accuracy without making the writing unnecessarily complex.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including subordinate clauses with “because,” “as,” and “if,” and a relative clause in “a person having their own business.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the contrast between employment and self-employment is expressed clearly. Some grammatical errors remain, such as “Self-employment protect people,” where the singular subject requires “protects,” and “a workers day,” which needs a possessive apostrophe. “A single person has to look after sales…” is followed by a list that would benefit from more consistent parallel phrasing. The final sentence also shifts to “you” after referring to “people,” weakening consistency of person. Greater control of subject–verb agreement, possessives, and consistent sentence patterns would help the writer build on the range already demonstrated.

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