Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-12

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 most of the individuals prefer to be self employed instead of work for institiution or organisation. This is because they feel more comfortable and proud while working as a self employed. This trend has become popular for several reasons,although it has some disadvantages. This essay will discuss the main reason behind this case and the drawbacks of being self employed.

There are several reasons why people are increasingly choosing self employment for them.One of the primary reason is the freedom and flexibility that self employment provides. Unlike traditional employes, who are usually required to follow the fix working hours and company policies,self employed individuals have the opportunity to organise their own scheduals according to their personal preferences. As a rezult they feel free to follow any instructions of boss and maintain a better balance between their personal and professional lives. Furthemore, employes generally receive a fixed salary, individuals who establish successful buisness can expand their work and generate considerabely greater profits.

Despite these benefits, self employment has several disadvantages. The biggest problem is that the income is not gurranted. Unlike company employes who usually receive a regular fixed salary every month,while self employed workers may earn less money during difficult periods . Another disadvantage is that they do not usually get paid holidays unlike traditional workers medical insurance and retirement plans, which are commonly provided by large organisations.

In conclusion, people choose self employment because it offers freedom, flexibility and the chance to earn more money. However extra responsibilities and a lack of employee benefits can make this type of work challenging. Therefore , people consider both advantages and disadvantages before becomming self employed.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion7.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear focus: it explains the appeal of self-employment through flexibility, control over scheduling and the possibility of higher profits, then identifies unstable income and missing benefits as disadvantages. These are relevant reasons, and the conclusion restates the main position. The explanation of flexibility is more developed than the other points, while the claims about greater profits and the lack of benefits are stated briefly and would benefit from a specific example or further explanation. The opening also says people feel “comfortable and proud,” but this idea is not developed in the body. More balanced support for each main point would make the response more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The essay has a clear four-paragraph structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. The progression is easy to follow, and signposts such as “One of the primary reason,” “Despite these benefits” and “In conclusion” help show how the ideas relate. The main points are grouped appropriately, and the conclusion reflects the discussion. Some linking is a little mechanical, however, and the second body paragraph moves quickly from income uncertainty to employee benefits without explaining their connection. A few transitions and references could be made more precise; for example, clarify who “they” refers to in “they feel free,” and connect each disadvantage more explicitly to its effect on workers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “freedom and flexibility,” “fixed salary,” “personal and professional lives,” “retirement plans” and “difficult periods.” This gives the essay enough range to communicate its main ideas. However, spelling errors and inaccurate word forms are noticeable, including “institiution,” “scheduals,” “buisness,” “gurranted” and “considerabely.” Some collocations are also awkward: “follow any instructions of boss” does not express the intended freedom naturally, and “expand their work” is imprecise for growing a business. These choices do not prevent understanding, but they reduce precision and fluency. Check spelling carefully and learn common word partnerships for employment and business.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay attempts both simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “workers, who are usually required to follow…” and a contrast introduced by “Unlike traditional employees.” The overall meaning remains clear, but errors in agreement, articles, verb forms and sentence construction recur. For example, “One of the primary reason” needs a plural noun, while “instead of work” requires a gerund. The sentence beginning “Unlike company employees…” is also awkwardly joined to the following clause with “while,” and the final phrase “before becomming” needs a different verb form. Punctuation spacing is inconsistent. Review these patterns and proofread sentence boundaries to improve accuracy while retaining the range of structures attempted.

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