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, people may choose self-employment because it offers greater freedom and flexibility, although it can also make it difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| 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, focusing on autonomy and workplace culture as drivers, and health/work-life balance as drawbacks. However, the development is somewhat limited. The explanation of why people choose self-employment relies on generalisations about 'leg-pulling' and 'flattery' in companies, which could be more balanced. The conclusion is brief but effectively summarises the main points. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your examples with more specific detail or evidence to fully develop your arguments.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph has a central theme. 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 flow between sentences could be smoother. For instance, the opening sentence is a bit disjointed from the rest of the introduction. The use of referencing is generally clear, but improving the variety of linking words would enhance the overall flow and coherence of the argument.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'incentives', 'autonomy' (implied), and 'work-life balance'. There are some instances of slightly unnatural phrasing, such as 'leg-pulling and back-biting culture' and 'long-time pushback', which are informal or imprecise. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, there is a lack of more sophisticated or academic collocations that would elevate the response to a higher band. Focusing on precise word choices and avoiding colloquialisms will help improve your score in this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'this is not a one-day or one-month behavior an employee faces of discouragement' and 'the self-employed person pays the price in the form of sleepless nights'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do show a lack of full control over complex structures. You should aim to vary your sentence length and ensure that your use of prepositions and relative clauses is more precise. Overall, the grammar is functional but requires more polish to reach the Band 7 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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