Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-04

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 the modern era, most individuals prefer self employment over company employment.

A compelling reason for this might be the fact that self employment is more flexible and convienient than working for a company or organisation. While companies demand a strict work routine and put excessive workload on the employees, self employment or business ownership allows people to work at their own pace and their desirable timings. Another considerable reason might be that many workers do not receive adequate amount of salaries from their respective companies. For instance, in developing countries like Pakistan, many young graduates do not receive essential perks and remuneration from their employers so they prefer possession of small businesses which require minimum investment and bear a suitable profit.

While self employment proves fruitful in many conditions, it may pose some disadvantages too. One of this is that self employed individuals do not learn punctuality and develop lethargy. Many self employed people suffer significant losses as their businesses struggle to thrive in the fluctuating economy. Also they bear an obvious workload as they multi-task to complete their operations. Self employment also requires initial investment which many people can not afford. They enjoy no holidays and additional perks offered by the companies which include health insurance, paid maternity leave for women, cars and residence subjective to the rank. For example, during Covid lockdown many multi-national and well reputed companies offered aid to their employees while self-employed individuals faced financial crisis due to huge loss in their small businesses.

Hence, it is evident that self employment has various benefits but working with an organisation or company enables one to develop professional skills while working safely under the umbrella of a reliable provider.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear overall position: flexibility and inadequate pay are given as reasons for self-employment, while financial risk, workload and the loss of employee benefits are presented as disadvantages. The Pakistan example and the Covid-lockdown comparison help make the discussion relevant and concrete. Most points are explained, but some claims are broad or not fully supported. For example, the claim that self-employed people “do not learn punctuality and develop lethargy” is asserted rather than explained, and the conclusion introduces professional skills and security without developing this comparison in the main discussion. Clarifying or substantiating these points would make the ideas more consistently extended and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: reasons are discussed first, disadvantages follow, and a concluding sentence gives a final comparison. Linking expressions such as “For instance,” “Also,” and “Hence” help readers follow the progression, and the examples are placed alongside the relevant points. However, the disadvantages paragraph contains many separate ideas in quick succession, so the relationship between them is not always developed; grouping financial risks and employment benefits, for example, could improve progression. Some transitions are also mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Also” and “Self employment.” More varied referencing and clearer links between claims would make cohesion more flexible and less noticeable.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The response uses an adequate range for the topic, including terms such as “remuneration,” “fluctuating economy,” “initial investment,” and “financial crisis.” These choices show an attempt to use more specific vocabulary, and the meaning is generally clear. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, however: “possession of small businesses,” “bear a suitable profit,” and “residence subjective to the rank” do not express the intended ideas naturally. There are also spelling errors, including “convienient,” and inconsistent forms such as “self employment” and “self-employed.” Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and check spelling and hyphenation; this would make the vocabulary more precise and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive clause (“While self employment proves fruitful…”) and a relative clause (“which many people can not afford”). Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, and the response attempts to connect ideas through subordination. Some grammatical errors remain. For example, “One of this” should be “One of these,” and “do not receive adequate amount of salaries” needs an article and a more suitable plural construction. In “They enjoy no holidays and additional perks offered by the companies,” the relationship between the subject and the benefits is unclear. Review agreement, articles, and sentence construction, and punctuate long sentences carefully to improve accuracy while retaining varied structures.

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