Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-25
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 times, most individual prefer to be an entrepreneur, other than to work for a company or organisation. Several factors can be attributed to this with several demerits on being self-employed.
On the one hand, being self-employed has so many benefits to the individual. It give the individual the opportunity to manage time and resources. Working for some company is time intensive, one can not dictate when to resume work or when to close from work, but being an entrepreneur gives one the liberty. Furthermore, being self-employed can lead to financial freedom. All the financial benefits that comes with running the business goes to the individual in charge. Additionally the individual controls the general revenue of the business. Lastly, the individual has an ample time to fulfill other dreams and ambitions.
On the other hand, there are several demerits of being self-employed, for instance, the financial burden is solely on the individual. In starting up the business one needs capital, these financing can be too much for an individual to raise thereby affecting the startup of the business. Furthermore, all the risk that comes with the business is being directed to one person. These can discourage the individual from continued running of the business. Additionally, since this is an individuals business, there are no much external encouragement to keep on working hard. The individual will only motivate himself, but that is is not sustainable as the individual can easily quite.
In conclusion, being self-employed has so much values but the demerits should not be overlooked.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: reasons for the rise in self-employment and the potential disadvantages. However, the development of ideas is somewhat superficial. For example, the point about 'financial freedom' is mentioned but not fully explored or supported with specific examples. The conclusion is also very brief and does not effectively summarize the main points. To reach a higher band, you should aim to provide more detailed explanations and concrete examples for each of your arguments, ensuring that the connection between your points and the prompt is explicit and well-developed throughout the essay.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into clear paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'Additionally'. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or repetitive. The flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that the transition between ideas is smoother. Additionally, some referencing is slightly unclear, such as in the third paragraph where the connection between 'no much external encouragement' and the subsequent sentence could be more logically linked to improve the overall progression of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey your meaning clearly. You use some topic-specific terms like 'entrepreneur', 'financial burden', and 'capital'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'no much external encouragement' and 'easily quite' (instead of 'quit'). To improve, try to incorporate more precise collocations and less common vocabulary related to business and employment. Expanding your range of synonyms and avoiding repetitive sentence starters will also help demonstrate a more sophisticated control of language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'most individual prefer' (should be 'individuals prefer') and 'It give' (should be 'It gives'). There are also errors with articles and pluralization, such as 'these financing' and 'no much external encouragement'. While these errors do not prevent communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage will significantly improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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