Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-09

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)

Nowadays, an increasing number of individuals prefer to work for themselves rather than to work for a company. This essay will discuss the reasons behind this trend and explain its possible disadvantages.

There are several reasons why people choose to become self-employed. The main reason is that they want to be their own boss, they can't work under restrictions and can't follow the rules made by others. Furthermore, this allows them to make their own decisions and work according to their own schedules. They can enjoy more freedom and independence, they would not follow the orders of their bosses and would not changed their lives according to their work schedules. For example, they can decide their working hours without following strict company rules and can work hard for their own business instead of working day and night for other company.

However, being self-employed has some disadvantages. One major drawback is that people may not have stable source of income because they do not receive a fixed salary every month. Moreover, this approach is very stressful for those residents they have manage all their expenses themselves. In addition, those persons who manage all expenses of their family, they should be needed a stable source of income. For instance, some individuals start their own business by investing their whole savings, if their business does not perform well and persons may not have another source of income, so it is very disturbing and stressing. Hence, this can cause stress and uncertainty.

In conclusion, people choose self-employment because it offers freedom and independence, whereas it can create financial problems due to uncertain income.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear focus: it explains the appeal of being one’s own boss and having control over decisions and schedules, then discusses income instability and stress. The example of investing personal savings helps illustrate the financial risk. These relevant points meet the task well, but some are not fully developed. For instance, the reasons for preferring self-employment largely repeat the ideas of freedom and independence, while the disadvantages could be explained more precisely, such as how irregular income affects business planning or family commitments. To strengthen the response further, extend each main idea with a distinct explanation or consequence rather than restating it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and disadvantages, and a concise conclusion. The progression from personal freedom to financial uncertainty is easy to follow, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “However,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and several sentences repeat closely related points about freedom, schedules, and income. Some links between clauses are also awkward: the sentence beginning “For instance” joins several consequences with “if” and “so,” making the relationship less smooth. Grouping related ideas more tightly and using clearer sentence boundaries would make the progression more natural and the connections between examples and claims more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for discussing employment and financial risk, with relevant expressions such as “self-employed,” “fixed salary,” “stable source of income,” and “uncertainty.” The writer also uses some topic-specific language, including “investing their whole savings.” However, the range is limited by repeated use of “work,” “people,” “source of income,” and “stress,” and some combinations are unnatural or imprecise, such as “very disturbing and stressing” and “manage all their expenses themselves.” These choices remain understandable but reduce precision and fluency. Aim to use more natural collocations and vary repeated terms, while checking word forms and phrasing so that the vocabulary sounds idiomatic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple sentences and attempts at longer structures, including clauses with “because,” “whereas,” and “if.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some errors in sentence construction and verb forms are noticeable. For example, “they can't work under restrictions and can't follow the rules” is joined to the preceding clause with a comma, creating a run-on sentence; “they have manage” needs a correctly formed verb; and “they would not changed their lives” has an incorrect verb form. The sentence beginning “In addition” also has an unclear subject–verb structure. Use full stops or conjunctions to control long sentences, and check verb forms and clause structure during revision.

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