解題
Indicative content:
• Opportunities of self-employment: a self-employed person is their own boss, giving them independence and flexibility over how, when and where they work; they keep the profits their business generates, so their income has real potential to grow if the business succeeds, rather than being limited to a fixed wage; self-employment allows a person to pursue their own idea or passion directly, which can bring high personal satisfaction; support is available from government and non-government agencies (for example start-up loans, grants and business advice services) which can help reduce some of the practical barriers to starting out.
• Challenges/risks of self-employment: income is not guaranteed and can be unpredictable, especially in the early stages of a new business, unlike a fixed employee wage; a self-employed person does not automatically receive employee benefits such as guaranteed holiday pay, sick pay or a pension contribution from an employer; they are personally responsible for every part of running the business (finance, marketing, production, customer service), which can be demanding, particularly without the experience or support that an established employer would normally provide; and a new business can fail, meaning any money invested (including from loans) could be lost.
• Evaluation: for a young person specifically, self-employment can be a genuinely valuable route, particularly given the availability of government/council start-up support and the flexibility it offers, but the claim that it offers 'far greater opportunities than risks' is only partly justified — a young person is likely to have less business experience, less personal savings to fall back on, and less established credit history than an older entrepreneur, which can make the financial risks of self-employment (uncertain income, potential business failure, lack of employee benefits) proportionally more significant for them; a balanced conclusion is that self-employment offers real opportunities for a young person, but these come with genuine, not minor, risks that must be carefully planned for, for example by researching demand and securing appropriate funding/support before starting, as shown by good practice such as testing a business idea on a small scale first.
Final answer: self-employment offers young people genuine opportunities (independence, unlimited income potential, pursuing their own idea, available start-up support) but also carries real, significant risks (unpredictable income, no guaranteed employee benefits, sole responsibility, risk of business failure), so the two are more evenly balanced for a young person than the statement suggests, making careful research and planning essential.
評分準則
Level 3 [8–10 marks]: highly competent, detailed and balanced evaluation of both opportunities and risks of self-employment for a young person, well-justified overall conclusion, sophisticated use of specialist LLW vocabulary, high standard of QWC.
Level 2 [5–7 marks]: competent evaluation covering opportunities and risks with two-sided points and a conclusion, though less fully developed; good use of terminology.
Level 1 [1–4 marks]: basic, generalised points about self-employment with limited evaluation or one-sided treatment, little use of terminology, weaker QWC.
0 marks: no creditworthy content.