Having a salaried job is better than being self-employed. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Sample Response
If one wants to work for money, there are really only two options, working for someone else for a salary and being self-employed. Most people are choose between these two optionsinvolved with these two options and they both have advantages and disadvantages.
Being self-employed means that the worker owns the business they operatethe business that is being done. This might be a small one-person business or a large company with hundreds of employees. One advantage of thisThe first advantage of this is the capacity to earn more money. If the business does very well, the income can be considerable and the owner of the company will reap the rewardsreceive the benefits. On the other hand, if business is slowif business is not good, the owner’s income will be low. Self-employed people also have some freedom to choosehave the benefit to some extent of choosing their working hours and holidays and they have the right to change anything within their business. With this autonomy, however, comes the pressure to succeed and the reliance on one’s employees, if there are any, to do their best to make the business thrive.
Salaried workers do not experience the same stress as the self-employed owners of companies. They might experience stress in their roleshave stress in their duties, but the pressure that comes with keeping one’s own business operating successfully in order to support oneself and one’s family is just not felt by an employee. The employee also has certainty about their incomea certain knowledge of his or her income, as the salary is usually fixed every month. The self-employed owner’s income often depends on how successful the business is. The employee’s fixed income, however, does not give much scope for earning substantially moreearning large amounts more. In addition, an employee does not have the owner's freedom or autonomythe freedoms of the owner or the autonomy, and for many people, having control over their lives is a significant factor into their well-being.
It is certain that there are advantages and disadvantages for both being self-employed and salaried. I personally disagree that being salaried is better than being self-employed. I prefer the autonomy that being self-employed brings and, although there is more risk and pressure, this can lead to greater and more fulfilling rewards.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response gives a balanced, logically developed comparison and closes with a clear, well-supported preference for self-employment. Its main limitation is occasional awkward or imprecise phrasing, which slightly weakens an otherwise mature and controlled discussion. The highest-priority improvement is to state the position earlier and refine several collocations so the argument sounds consistently natural and exact.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response addresses both employment arrangements in depth and reaches a clear, relevant position supported by developed comparisons.
Signal the disagreement explicitly in the introduction so the position is unmistakable throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically through well-focused paragraphs, with effective comparison and clear links between advantages and drawbacks.
Reduce repeated references to owners, employees, income, and autonomy by using slightly tighter transitions and referencing.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad and generally precise, though several collocations sound awkward or less natural than intended.
Refine phrases such as earning large amounts more and a factor to well-being into more idiomatic alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used with strong control, and the few lapses do not impede meaning.
Polish occasional parallelism and article or preposition choices to make complex sentences consistently accurate.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
Having a salaried job is better than being self-employed. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.