Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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)

Some people prefer being self-employed, while others choose to work for a company. This essay will analyse the reason of this trend, and the negative view of working on your own.

On one hand, it is commonly believe that some people make this choice to have a balanced life. This is because when you work for yourself, you can organise your schedule and priorities. For example, many parents are able to spend more time with their kids when they are able to accomodate their agendas to pick-up their children from school. For this reason, it is becoming more popular among the younger generations rather than elderly people.

On the other hand, this lifestyle could potentially become a stressful one. This is due to the fact that not having financial stability can contribute to high levels of stress. For instance, a recent research in Ohio has demonstrated that people who have spent most of their active life working for an organsitation or company experiment an increased level of content, compared to people that were working for themselves.

To sum up, although working independently brings freedom and more spare time, it can contribute to generate some concerns around stress levels. Overall, I believe that its benefits outweigh its drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both questions: flexibility is offered as a reason for self-employment, and financial insecurity is identified as a disadvantage. The example of parents arranging work around school pick-ups makes the first point relevant, and your conclusion gives a clear view that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. However, the response is under the required 250 words, and the ideas are not developed enough to fully explain the trend or its disadvantages. The claim that self-employment is more popular among younger people is not supported, while the Ohio research example is vague and its link to financial instability is unclear. Expand both sides with specific explanation or a credible, clearly relevant example, and make sure the conclusion follows from the discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting contrasting points, and a conclusion. The signposts “On one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To sum up” make the progression easy to follow, and examples are placed alongside the points they illustrate. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some control of paragraphing. To make the flow more flexible and precise, avoid relying mainly on formulaic transitions and strengthen links between claims and evidence. For example, the Ohio study is introduced with “For instance,” but the reader is not shown clearly how its finding supports the point about financial instability. Develop the connection within the paragraph and use clearer referencing where needed.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range to discuss the topic, including “self-employed,” “balanced life,” “financial stability,” and “levels of stress.” These choices generally communicate your meaning, and the response attempts some more specific language rather than repeating only basic terms. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “the reason of this trend,” “negative view,” and “experiment an increased level of content” are not natural expressions in this context. There are also spelling errors such as “accomodate” and “organsitation.” Aim for accurate, natural combinations and proofread spelling; for example, describe people as “experiencing greater job satisfaction” rather than using “experiment” in that sense.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses such as “This is because when you work for yourself, you can organise your schedule and priorities” and “although working independently brings freedom and more spare time.” Most sentences remain understandable, and errors do not generally prevent the reader from following your argument. Some grammatical inaccuracies are present, however. For example, “it is commonly believe” needs a past participle (“believed”), and “the reason of this trend” uses an incorrect grammatical pattern (“reason for”). The sentence beginning “a recent research” also has an article/countability problem, and “people that were working” shifts awkwardly in tense. Review verb forms, articles, and consistent tense choices, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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