Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-06

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 the current times, many people prefer to be self-employed instead of working for corporate offices. This is mostly because of the long work hours imposed on the employees however, this switch can also affect the quality of work produced staying at home.

Majority of the workplaces have a fixed workhour from 9 to 5, this takes up most of the portion of a persons day. So when the employee reached home they become mentally and physcially exhausted and cannot spend time with their family. This routines work life does not keep a person fulfilled for which many prefer to be self employed. Additionally, corporate offices have strict rules and regulations for which it is difficult for an employee to express their creativity and they are often dominated by their superiors. These situations can affect a persons well being and can be a major cause for resigning from workforce.

However, the drawbacks of being self-employed is also quite detrimental. The advantage of flexible workhours can make a person lazy and lose discipline. They can end up working full day instead of the previous 9-5. The financial constraint linked with being an entrepreneur is also a big risk, as there is no constant cashflow, the pressure can buildup and a financial setback can ruin a person's livelihood.

In conclusion, the extended work hours and toxic work culture are pushing people to look for opportunities where they can have control but this can ultimately become a financial burden as create more mental stress.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, exploring both the reasons why people choose self-employment—such as long corporate hours and strict rules—and the potential disadvantages, including financial instability and discipline issues. The position is clear throughout the essay. However, the development of ideas is somewhat uneven, which places the response precisely in the middle tier. For instance, the discussion on why employees seek autonomy is well-founded, but the point regarding the quality of work produced at home is briefly mentioned without robust extension. To reach a higher standard, every main idea needs to be fully elaborated with deeper explanations or more detailed supporting examples, ensuring a balanced and thorough exploration of both prompt questions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logic that guides the reader through the causes of self-employment and its drawbacks. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct themes, such as the motivations in the first body paragraph and the disadvantages in the second. However, cohesion at times feels a bit mechanical or faulty. For example, transitional phrases like 'however, this switch can also affect' are slightly clunky, and referencing becomes slightly unclear in sentences such as 'for which many prefer to be self employed.' Progression is evident, but to achieve a higher band, the writer must employ cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that referencing within and between sentences connects ideas smoothly without awkward phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate ideas about employment and business challenges effectively, such as 'corporate offices', 'regulations', 'cashflow', and 'livelihood'. There are visible attempts to use less common items like 'financial constraint' and 'detrimental'. Nevertheless, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as writing 'workhour' instead of 'work hours', 'financial setback can ruin a person's livelihood' in a slightly unnatural way, and minor spelling or phrasing issues like 'cashflow' written as one word and punctuation slips. To move up to the next level, the writer should refine their word choices for greater precision, demonstrate more control over collocations, and eliminate spelling slips to ensure more natural expression.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures through sentences like 'When the employee reached home they become mentally and physcially exhausted.' However, there is a persistence of grammatical and punctuation errors that prevent a higher standing. Instances of errors include tense inconsistency ('reached' versus 'become'), missing apostrophes in plurals or possessives ('workhour', 'persons day', 'workhours'), and incorrect prepositional patterns such as 'resigning from workforce' missing an article. While these issues rarely impede overall communication, the frequency of basic structural slips means the text does not yet achieve the reliable control and frequent error-free sentences required of more advanced writing.

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

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