Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-07

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)

The importance of self-employed working has become a widely discussed topic in recent years. In today's generation individuals decided to do work by their own instead of working with a company. I believe people follows this trend due to flexibility and independence, although this trend has certain advantages, it also brings notable drawbacks that should not be neglected.

There are several reasons why this trend becoming popular. To begin with, workers want to earn a huge amount of money which is extremely difficult if they work under a company. Furthermore, it can provide individuals time flexibility and independence. For instance, people can work according to their mood and can spent a good quality time with their families. As a result, they become more confident and can live a happy life with family owing to availability.

There are certain disadvantages to be considered, Firstly, the major drawback is high risk of unstable income, which leads to depression and stress. Moreover, lack of team work and limited connections may reduce individuals productivity and growth. For example, employee's who worked with an organization have a chance to share ideas with other members which can grow their productivity. Meanwhile, people who work by their own need to handle every situation alone which may sometime frustrating.

In conclusion, people choose to be self-employed because of flexibility, independence, respect and to earn big amount of money. However, there are various drwabacks such as limited connections, lack of team work and unstable income which cannot be overlooked.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both parts of the question and maintain a clear overall position: flexibility, independence and earning potential are presented as reasons, while unstable income and limited collaboration are identified as disadvantages. The examples about arranging work around family life and sharing ideas in an organisation help make the points relevant. This is a solid response, but some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that self-employment allows people to earn “a huge amount of money” would be stronger with an explanation of how this may happen, such as keeping profits or choosing clients. The reference to “respect” appears only in the conclusion and is not developed in the body. Extending these points and supporting them more precisely would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, a paragraph explaining reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from one part of the question to the other is easy to follow, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “For example” help guide the reader. However, some linking is mechanical, and the opening sentence of the disadvantages paragraph has a punctuation problem: “Firstly” should not follow a comma after “considered.” The final sentence also repeats several points without adding a concluding insight. Within paragraphs, make the relationship between claims and explanations more explicit, and use referencing carefully so that phrases such as “this trend” and “they” have clear antecedents.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “self-employed,” “flexibility,” “independence,” “unstable income,” and “productivity.” There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “limited connections.” However, several word choices and collocations are unnatural or imprecise, including “self-employed working,” “do work by their own,” “work under a company,” and “a good quality time.” The spelling error “drwabacks” is noticeable, and “huge amount of money” and “happy life” are broad expressions that could be more precise. Aim to learn common word partnerships and check spelling and word forms; this would make your vocabulary more natural and accurate while preserving the clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a concession in the introduction (“although this trend has certain advantages…”) and a relative clause in “people who work by their own.” Most ideas remain understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include subject–verb agreement in “individuals decided” and “people follows,” a missing verb in “why this trend becoming popular,” and the incorrect form “can spent.” There are also problems with articles and sentence boundaries, as in “earn big amount of money” and the comma splice in the introduction, where two independent clauses are joined by a comma. Review verb agreement and forms, articles, and punctuation, then proofread each sentence. More accurate control of these patterns would strengthen the range you are already attempting.

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