Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-28

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 this modern time, many people are now chosing to be self-employed instead of working for an organisation or a company. This is because self-employed brings several advantages such as flexibility and freedom, while there are some drawbacks such as financial uncertainity and a heavy work load.

On the one hand, being self-employed have some benefits. Firstly, people have flexibility. They have an option regarding what they want to do. People can choose the work according to their interests. For example, being self-empoyed have an option to choose the work as their preference instead of working below the manager. As a result, they are satisfied with their work. Secondly, They have freedom. People can complete their work by their convenience. They do not have time pressure which reduces stress and helps them work properly.

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks which could be stressful such as financial problems. One person cannot handle all the work, hence they have to assign work to other employers. This results in higher charge as they have to provide funds to the workers along with the organisation. Moreover, they also have a heavy work load. In organisation, the work load is distributed among the employers, whereas being self-employed is more stressful because they have to assign all the work as well as maintain the company. As a result, this pressure increases stress by which they cannot work properly.

In conclusion, although being self employed have some benefits as there is more freedom and flexibility, it also have several drawbacks such as financial problems and work-related issues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both parts of the question and establish a clear overall position: flexibility and freedom attract people, while financial pressure and workload are disadvantages. These points are relevant, and the conclusion restates the main contrast. However, the reasons are not developed evenly or precisely. The explanation of choosing work “according to their interests” is supported by an example, but the example is unclear and repeats the idea of having a choice. The financial disadvantage also needs clearer explanation: the discussion of hiring workers and paying them does not fully show why this is a common risk for self-employed people. Develop each point with a specific, realistic example and explain its consequences more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The contrast between “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” helps readers follow the discussion, while “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Moreover” signal the sequence of points. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking ideas. However, progression within paragraphs is occasionally mechanical, and some links do not make the reasoning clear. For example, “hence” connects the claim that one person cannot handle all the work to hiring workers, but the relationship between this and financial problems needs explaining. Use clearer cause-and-effect links and avoid repeating “As a result” without adding a distinct consequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “flexibility,” “freedom,” “financial problems,” and “work load.” Some choices also show an attempt to express more specific concepts, such as “time pressure” and “financial uncertainty.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes parts of the response less clear. “Being self-employed have an option” does not express the intended meaning naturally, and “assign work to other employers” uses the wrong term for people hired to do work. There are also spelling errors, including “chosing,” “empoyed,” and “uncertainity.” Build a more precise range of business-related expressions and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses with “although,” “whereas,” and “because,” and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in agreement and sentence construction recur. For example, “being self-employed have” should use a singular verb, and “it also have several drawbacks” has the same agreement problem. The sentence beginning “For example, being self-empoyed have an option” is also structurally unclear, making the example difficult to follow. Capitalisation is inconsistent in “Secondly, They,” and some longer sentences combine ideas without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and build complex sentences around one clear main clause; this will make your range more reliable.

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