Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-26
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)
As the demands for human beings increase day by day, professionals focus on self-employment rather than on working in an organization. Self-employment may give liberty to persons, but at the same time their pay also increases due to the increase of income, but what are the causes and disadvantages of being self-employed? It depends upon the conditions around them.
On the one hand, every person wants freedom, whether in making decisions or in earning, and does not want to work for any boss or in an organization. Mostly in organizations, employees face many issues regarding their pay as well as incentives. The leg-pulling and back-biting culture in some companies pushes back the real and honest worker, and some employees who flatter their superiors gain promotions and incentives. Additionally, this is not a one-day or one-month behavior an employee faces of discouragement but a long-time pushback, which creates a way to choose the self-employed path and work online from home or anywhere they want.
Furthermore, a self-employed person is free to work, and there is no fixed schedule, but every act has a price, and the self-employed person pays the price in the form of sleepless nights, no fixed daily time, and health issues. As online work has no fixed time, maybe clients send you texts late at night to fix any issue that sometimes is minor but mostly disturbs the employee's night routine. Sleepless nights create many health issues in the form of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc.
In conclusion, self-employment gives liberty to individuals and financial rewards, but it needs proper planning to maintain work-life balance and good health. For this, individuals should maintain a balance between their work and personal life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response addresses both parts of the prompt: the reasons for choosing self-employment and the potential disadvantages. The ideas are relevant, particularly the discussion on workplace culture and the health impacts of irregular hours. However, the development is somewhat uneven. While the reasons for choosing self-employment are clear, the discussion on disadvantages could be more deeply explored beyond health issues. The introduction is slightly repetitive and poses the prompt's questions back to the reader, which is not ideal for an academic essay. Overall, the response covers all requirements, but the depth of analysis is consistent with a band 6.5 or 7.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each with a distinct focus. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing within sentences could be smoother. For example, the sentence 'this is not a one-day or one-month behavior an employee faces of discouragement' is somewhat clunky and impacts the flow. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the motivation for self-employment to the negative consequences.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations, such as 'leg-pulling and back-biting culture', which are effective. However, there are instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'demands for human beings increase' and 'pushes back the real and honest worker'. These minor inaccuracies in word choice prevent the essay from reaching a higher band. The range is sufficient to communicate complex ideas, but it lacks the precision and sophistication required for a band 7.5 or higher.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are frequent minor errors in grammar and punctuation. For instance, 'an employee faces of discouragement' is grammatically awkward, and there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases throughout. The sentence structure is generally functional, but the control over complex structures is not consistent enough to warrant a band 7.0. The errors do not impede communication, but they are noticeable enough to suggest a band 6.0 level of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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