Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-18

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)

These days people want to work for themselves, rather than to work as an employee under organisation or company. This is because people want independency in their life. The cons of being self-employed are that there is no fixed payment and lack of benefits.

The major reason that people want to work as a freelancer is that people do not want to bound themselves to a specific job. This is due to the fact that an individual wants to be an independent to live freely without any restictions, which promotes confidence and self-suficiency. Consequently, such freedom develops good mental and physical well-being. For instance, it is seen that buisness owners are more relaxed and have better financial freedom than a person who works for another company.

On the other hand, the major disadvantage of working independently is that there is no financial stability. This is because there is no fixed monthly or yearly payments. As a result, the person might be at risk of carrying their own financial responsibilities which can be affected by the market demand. Another demerit of working as self-employed is that the person receives no benefits such as, no sick leave payments or holidays. As a result the person may become exhausted or feel physically drained with no mental peace. For example, a freelancer if doesn't go to work due to sickness can face loss financially and his value in the market also decreases.

In conclusion, a person may want to be self-emplyed because they don't want to restrictions from emplyer. However, being independent owner brings many disadvantages such as, financial instability and lack of receiving perks from a company.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by explaining why people choose self-employment and identifying relevant disadvantages such as financial instability and a lack of workplace benefits. A clear position is maintained throughout the essay. However, the ideas could be further extended and supported with deeper explanation or more specific, robust examples. For instance, the example about business owners being more relaxed is a bit generalised and lacks specific detail. Nevertheless, the main task requirements are met, and the key issues of independence versus instability are properly explored. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.5, rounded to 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing, dividing the introduction, reasons, disadvantages, and conclusion effectively. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Consequently', 'On the other hand', and 'In conclusion'. However, there are some minor mechanical issues and awkward referencing, such as 'a freelancer if doesn't go to work due to sickness can face loss'. Progression is generally logical, but paragraph transitions and referencing sometimes feel slightly repetitive. These features place the text solidly in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'financial stability', 'self-sufficiency', and 'exhausted'. However, there are several noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'independency' instead of 'independence', 'restictions' instead of 'restrictions', 'suficiency' instead of 'sufficiency', and 'buisness' instead of 'business'. Additionally, phrases like 'self-emplyed' contain typographical slips. While communication is not impeded and the lexical range is minimally sufficient for a Band 6 score, these errors prevent the essay from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising structures such as 'This is due to the fact that...' and conditional clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('an independent to live freely'), incorrect preposition use ('under organisation'), and faulty agreement or phrasing ('a freelancer if doesn't go to work'). Punctuation errors are also present, such as missing commas before introductory conjunctions ('As a result the person may become exhausted'). These errors occasionally cause slight strain for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 to 6.0 profile.

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

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