Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-17

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)

Nowadays, an increasing number of people prefer to work by themself instead of being employed for a company or organisation. This essay will explain the main reason for this choice and discuss the disadvantages of self employed.

On the one hand, there are several reason why people to choose to become self employed. Firstly, they want greater freedom and independence in their professional live. They can decide their wokr hours choice business meetings accordinng to their prefereces. For example, people work on websites such as binance, youtube and google from their homes and also doing online meeting with their clients. Secondly, another essential reason is the opportunity to earn more money. Unlinke, employees, self employed individuals are limited to fixed monthly salary. If their business become sucessful they can expand it with other branches. Therefore, modern technology has made essay for people to start small busineess with limited stocks without working underneath someone.

On the other hand, this biggest issue of being self employed is financial uncertainity because people may not earn a regular income. For example, a small business owner may face losses during period when customers spend less money. In addition, self employed people working online on websities such as fiverr and qoutex, some time five to six months they does not have any work to do, as a result, they are in deep strees and anixety. In contrast, companies employees usually recieve a fixed amount of salary, which help them to manage their household expenses. Employees get benefits such as annual allowances, paid holiday, medical insurance and retairment pesions, which self employeed is not thiinking about.

In conclusion, people choose self emoloyeed because it offers independence and better opportunites. However, finncial instability, fewer benefits and heavy responsibilities can make it challeging

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both questions and maintains a clear overall position: independence and earning potential attract people, while unstable income and fewer employment benefits are disadvantages. The examples of a small business facing reduced customer spending and online workers having periods without work help make the risks relevant. This meets the task well, but the reasons are not developed evenly: the freedom point is illustrated, while the claim that self-employment offers a better chance to earn more is asserted rather than explained with a specific example. The discussion of responsibilities in the conclusion is also not developed in the main body. To strengthen the response further, explain how greater earning potential arises and extend one disadvantage with a concrete consequence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from freedom to earning potential, then to financial uncertainty and benefits, is generally easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” “On the other hand,” and “In conclusion” make the organisation explicit. However, some connections feel mechanical, and a few sentences combine several points without a clear relationship. For example, the sentence beginning “In addition” moves from online workers’ lack of work to stress and anxiety, then the next sentence contrasts this with company employees’ salaries. Use clearer transitions between these ideas and make references such as “this biggest issue” more precise to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “freedom and independence,” “financial uncertainty,” “fixed amount of salary,” and “medical insurance.” These choices communicate the main ideas, but the range and control are limited by repeated or inaccurate wording. There are noticeable spelling errors, including “uncertainity,” “sucessful,” and “retairment,” as well as word-choice and collocation problems such as “work by themself,” “limited stocks,” and “working underneath someone.” These sometimes make the reader pause, even though the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Build a more accurate set of phrases for employment and business, and proofread spelling and word forms. More precise vocabulary would also help distinguish income, profit, and business growth.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay attempts both simple and complex sentences, including conditional and cause-and-effect structures such as “If their business become successful…” and “because people may not earn a regular income.” This gives some variety, and the overall meaning remains understandable. However, errors occur across sentence patterns and often make the reader work to interpret a point. Examples include “there are several reason,” “why people to choose,” “their business become,” and “they does not have any work”; these show problems with plurals, verb forms, and subject–verb agreement. Some sentences also lack clear grammatical structure, particularly the description of choosing work hours and arranging meetings. Practise accurate clause construction and check agreement and verb forms, especially in longer sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.