Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-05
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 6.0)
In todays world, significant number of people want to be a self-employed, rather than work under the organisation. As, people want to be independent and flexibility. However, it also has several drawbacks, including financial uncertainty and a lack of employee benefits.
There are several reasons why people want to become self-employed. The main reason is that they ahve freedo, to make their own decisions and manage their working environment. Unlike traditional employees, dont want to follow strick office timings or report to manager. Furthermore, self-employment provides the opportunities to earn more money because individuals can work with many clients or establish their own businessess. For instance, many skilled workers in Pakistan choose to to freelancing because they can work with internationals clients through platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork while managing their own schedules.
Desipe these benefits, being self-employed also has some significant disadvantages. One of the major drawback is the uncertainty of income, as individuals may not receive a consistant amount of money every month. the can make it difficult to manage household expenses and financial responsibilities. Another disadvantage is that people do not usually receive benefits such as paid holidays, health insurance or retirement contributions from an employer. For example, a freelance web developer may struggle financially if clients cancel projects or there is not enough work available.
In conclusion, people are increasingly choosing self-employment because it provides independence, flexible working hours and better earning opportunities. Nevertheless, financial instability and the absence of employment benefits are major challenges associated with this type of work.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear overall position: independence, flexibility and earning potential explain the appeal, while unstable income and missing benefits are identified as disadvantages. The examples of Pakistani freelancers using Fiverr and Upwork and a web developer losing projects make the points relevant. This meets the core requirements well, and the conclusion accurately summarises the argument. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For example, the possibility of earning more is mentioned, but the response does not clarify when or why this is likely; similarly, the effects of lacking benefits could be developed further. Extending these points with a specific explanation or consequence would make the discussion more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph on reasons, one on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “Despite these benefits,” and “In conclusion” help distinguish the stages of the argument. The examples are placed alongside the points they support. Some cohesion is nevertheless mechanical, with repeated use of “Another disadvantage” and “For example,” and a few transitions or references are unclear, as in “the can make it difficult,” where the reader must infer the intended subject. Improve the flow by varying linking expressions and making references explicit, while ensuring each paragraph develops its central idea in a connected sequence.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The response uses relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “financial uncertainty,” “employee benefits,” “freelancing,” “international clients,” and “retirement contributions.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and there is some attempt to use more specific language than basic everyday terms. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “freedo,” “strick,” “consistant,” and “businessess.” Some phrasing is also unnatural, such as “work under the organisation” and “the opportunities to earn more money.” Proofread carefully and learn common collocations as complete phrases. More accurate choices such as “work for an organisation,” “strict office hours,” and “opportunities to increase their income” would make the vocabulary more controlled and natural.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
There is a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “Unlike traditional employees” and a reason clause with “because.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity and control. The opening has article and structure problems in “significant number of people want to be a self-employed,” while “As, people want to be independent and flexibility” is an incomplete sentence. Other examples include the missing subject in “dont want to follow” and the unclear “the can make it difficult.” Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, particularly at sentence beginnings. Practise complete sentence construction, articles, agreement, and punctuation, then check each sentence for a clear subject and verb.
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