Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-12

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)

Individuals today prefer to be self employed rather than working in a corporate. This essay will evaluate the reasons for this and the disadvantages of being self employed.

With the increasing popularity of start-ups and enterpreneurship and access to information, individuals have started exploring the idea of building something of their own. For example, my cousin left her job in Amazon to start a marketing agency of her own.The reason why people choose to be self-employed is because it gives them the flexibility and freedom to build something of their own.

Starting a new venture gives a person the chance to execute what they believe in, instead of obeying orders of their superiors.This freedom gives a person the chance to learn about all aspects in a business.These reasons together are often why people choose to be self-employed rather than working for a company.

However, there could be several disadvantages of being self employed. The first and foremost, is the investment of capital, labor, plant and machinery based on the nature of the business. For a person starting out a new venture for the first time, this could be a high risk investment. This process often involves doing everything on your own before hiring a set of people who take up the authority and responsibility. There are no weekends for self employed people, maybe on paper but never off paper, which makes their work life balance hard to maintain. A low phase in the business could result in selling personal assets to repay.

To recapitulate, I believe that while being self employed has several benefits that might suit a category of people, there are people on the flip side who might prefer stability over independence and choose working for an organisation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You address both questions and maintain a clear overall position: self-employment offers freedom, while some people may prefer organisational stability. The reasons are relevant, especially the opportunity to build a business and act on one’s own beliefs, and the example of your cousin makes the discussion more concrete. The disadvantages are also pertinent, including start-up investment, long working hours and possible loss of personal assets. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that self-employed people have “no weekends” would be stronger with a brief explanation or example, and the reasons for choosing this path could be developed beyond flexibility and independence. This covers the task well, with some development still needed for fuller support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs explaining reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages and a concluding summary. The progression from independence to business risks is easy to follow, and signposts such as “For example,” “However” and “To recapitulate” help guide the reader. Some linking is mechanical or repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “This freedom” and “These reasons,” and the two reasons paragraphs could be connected more smoothly. A few references are also imprecise: “This process” could refer to several aspects of starting a venture, while “There are no weekends” shifts abruptly from investment and staffing to work-life balance. Use clearer transitions and more precise referencing to make the relationships between ideas consistently explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “self-employed,” “entrepreneurship,” “investment of capital,” “authority and responsibility” and “work life balance.” These choices allow you to discuss both independence and financial risk. There are also attempts at more specific business language, although some expressions are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “working in a corporate,” “execute what they believe in” and “off paper.” Spelling errors in “enterpreneurship” and inconsistent hyphenation of “self employed” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more natural collocations and check spelling and word forms; this would make your ideas sound more precise without requiring a more complicated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including the subordinate clause “For a person starting out a new venture for the first time, this could be a high risk investment” and the contrast in your conclusion. Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “The first and foremost, is the investment” has an unnecessary comma and an incomplete-sounding opening; “There are no weekends for self employed people, maybe on paper but never off paper” joins ideas awkwardly; and “A low phase in the business could result in selling personal assets” uses an unclear grammatical construction. Missing spaces after full stops also occur. Practise forming complete, clearly linked sentences and check punctuation, articles and clause structure.

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