Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-12

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)

In recent years, an increasing number of people prefer to become self-employed instead of working for a company or organization. This is mainly because self-employment offers greater freedom and flexibility, although it also has several drawbacks, which will elucidate in the upcoming paragraphs with conclusion.

One major reason people choose self-employment is the freedom to make their own decisions. Self-employed individuals can decide their working hours, choose their projects and manage their businesses according to their preferences. Another reason is the possibility of earning a higher income. For instance, successful freelancer or small business owner may earn more than an employee working in a fixed position. Moreover, self-employment can provide a better work-life balance because people have more control over their schedules.

However, being self-employed also some significant demerits. The biggest drawback is financial uncertainty. Unlike regular employees, self-employed people may not have a fixed monthly salary, particularly when their business is new. In other words, they are also responsible for expenses such as rent, equipment, taxes and employees' salaries. Another disadvantage is that they may have to work long hours and face greater stress because they are responsible for the success of their business. For example, a small businesses owner may need to work late to meet costumers' demands and manage financial problems.

In conclusion, although self-employment offers greater independence, flexible working hours and the potential for higher earnings. Nevertheless, it also brings financial instability, long working hours and increased responsibility can make self-employment challenging, which create negative impact on employees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant and clearly presented, such as the mention of autonomy and financial instability. However, the development of these points is somewhat brief. While the essay covers the requirements, it could benefit from more detailed examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion is slightly repetitive and contains a sentence fragment, which slightly impacts the overall clarity of the position.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. Cohesive devices like 'Moreover', 'However', and 'In other words' are used effectively to link ideas. However, the transition in the final paragraph is problematic; the use of 'Although' followed by 'Nevertheless' in the same sentence creates a grammatical error that disrupts the flow. Additionally, the referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression could be smoother if the concluding summary were more integrated.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally appropriate for the task, with terms like 'financial uncertainty', 'autonomy', and 'work-life balance' used correctly. There are some minor errors, such as 'costumers' instead of 'customers' and 'a small businesses owner' instead of 'a small business owner'. While the range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, it lacks the sophistication or precision required for higher bands. The use of 'demerits' is slightly formal but acceptable in this context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips, such as 'which will elucidate' (missing subject), 'being self-employed also some significant demerits' (missing verb), and the final sentence which is a run-on fragment. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. More attention to subject-verb agreement and sentence completion would improve the accuracy significantly.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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