Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-20

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)

There is an increasing number of people being self-employed instead of working under a company or organization. It is mainly because it provides job flexibility and high income potential. However this could result isolation and unstable income in long-term.

Majority of people choose to work independently by starting their own business or company. Becoming their own boss offers them flexible working arrangements, which allows them to work at any time from anywhere. Moreover, owning a successful business could possibly lead to a financial freedom and therefore many people start working autonomy to prevent themselves from working all day and earning inadequate salary.

Sometimes, people choose to work independently without considering the negative consequences in a long-term. For instance, not having colleagues to work with could eventually lead to isolation from others people. This has a detrimental effect on the person’s skill for team working and understanding others opinion which is certainly crucial in this economy. Also, not only this but it is not evident that they would have more income than ordinary workers as most of the businesses usually do not succeed as they were estimated at first. For example, the company could start strong by earning adequate amount of profit in the first several months, then the profit could dramatically decrease as the days go or even lead to nonprofits. Therefore, for being self-employed, it is not always true that they can earn more than corporate company employees

In conclusion, to have a flexibility in income and workplace, many people start-up businesses. However, it is unpredictable that if they would succeed or fail in the future or even earn any profit from their company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses both parts of the task effectively, explaining motivations for self-employment and discussing its disadvantages. However, the development of ideas could be more comprehensive. For instance, while the flexibility and income potential are mentioned, further elaboration on "financial freedom" could strengthen the argument. Additionally, the conclusion about flexibility lacks clarity regarding future unpredictability. More nuanced arguments could enhance the response's depth.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The overall structure of the essay is logical, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, transitions could be improved to enhance coherence and cohesion. For example, phrases like "sometimes" and "moreover" could be better integrated to guide the reader through the narrative more smoothly. Additionally, the flow can be disrupted by abrupt ideas, like in the phrase "not only this" which feels disconnected; smoother transitions would enhance clarity.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally appropriate, yet there are instances of vague expressions such as "high income potential" and "inadequate salary" that could be more precise. Words like "autonomy" and phrases like "working independently" are suitable but could be supplemented with more varied vocabulary. Technical terms related to business might be introduced to raise the lexical level. Using specific terms related to self-employment and finances could improve the score in this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

Grammatical structures are mostly accurate, but there are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., "majority of people... choose" would be better as "the majority of people... choose"). Some sentences are overly complex, leading to minor errors that may confuse the reader, such as run-on sentences. Nonetheless, the writer demonstrates a reasonable range of grammatical structures, but refining sentence clarity would enhance readability.

Overall feedback

You have done well to address the task by discussing the reasons people choose self-employment and the disadvantages that accompany it. However, to improve your score, focus on creating clearer connections between your ideas, which will enhance coherence. Additionally, consider using more varied vocabulary and providing specific examples to support your points. Pay attention to grammatical structures, ensuring subject-verb agreement and redefining some sentences for clarity will further strengthen your writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.