Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-29

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)

Currently a lot of individuals wish to be self-employed instead of working for others, such as doing a regular job for a corporation and organization. While there are many reasons for this trend, for example doing own business, there are some potential drawbacks of this tend too.

There are a lot of reasons for people wanting to be self-employed rather than working for others. To begin with, some people always have a passion that they will start their own business one day. They always want to have their own recognition, own identity. If they choose to be employed other companies, they won't get the chance to operate their own business. As a result, they will not be able to start their business, and create their their legacy. Because doing a regular job does not allow a person so much energy, time to work for their own start-up. That's why, people choose to be self-employed. Furthermore, people want to contrbute to their economy. Because, when a person starts his own business, it requires some staffs to maintain their start-up properly. That's why, people need to hire employers. In effect, starting a business creates job opportunity for others which contribute to the economy positively.

On the other hand, the wish to be self-employed has some disadvantages too. First of all, it does not give a fixed income. As a business owner, people need to take risk and invest in their company. So, they may face either a booms or a declines. And they have to accept both as a entrepreneur. As a result, there are no gurantee that they will always have amount of income in their business. Another possible disadvantages would be not getting proper respect in a society. Sometimes, a society prefer a stable government income job opposed to do a business. In those society, doing a permanent job is seen as a norm, while starting own start-up does not create value for them. As a result, an entrepreneur does not get proper respect in those society.

In conclusion, although a lot of people want to be self-employed for creating their legacy and contributing to the economy, the disadvantages of being an start-up owner are also there.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions and maintain a relevant focus: the reasons include wanting to build a personal business and create jobs, while the disadvantages include uncertain income and reduced social respect in some communities. The examples about hiring staff and income fluctuations help explain the points. However, the reasons are not equally developed: the discussion of personal recognition repeats the idea of creating a business legacy without showing clearly why self-employment is preferable to employment. The claim about social respect is also general and would benefit from a concrete example or explanation of where this attitude occurs. Develop each main idea with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and specific support.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for reasons and disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression within each paragraph is generally understandable, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” help readers follow the argument. This meets the expected level of coherent organisation and also shows some flexibility in linking ideas. However, cohesion can feel mechanical because “That’s why” and “As a result” recur, sometimes where the relationship is already clear. The repeated references to “business” and “start-up” also make the flow less smooth. Use a wider range of linking methods, including pronouns and concise transitions, and ensure each sentence adds a distinct step to the argument.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “self-employed,” “fixed income,” “invest,” “entrepreneur,” and “job opportunity.” There are also attempts at less common expressions such as “own recognition” and “create their legacy.” However, several word-choice and collocation errors make the writing less natural, including “contrbute to their economy,” “hire employers” (the intended meaning appears to be employees), and “a booms or a declines.” Spelling errors such as “gurantee” and “contrbute,” along with repeated use of “business” and “start-up,” limit precision. Build accuracy by checking spelling and learning common word partnerships for employment and business.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex forms, including conditional clauses (“If they choose to be employed…”) and cause-and-effect sentences (“As a result…”). The overall meaning is usually clear, but some grammatical errors remain across the response. For example, “people need to take risk” has a number error, while “there are no gurantee that they will always have amount of income” has problems with agreement and article use. In “a society prefer,” the subject and verb do not agree, and “an start-up owner” uses the wrong article. Some sentence fragments beginning with “Because” also interrupt the sentence structure. Review articles, singular/plural forms, and subject–verb agreement, then proofread complex sentences for completeness.

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.