Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-30

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)

Despite the presence of many companies in this era that require manpower , individuals, have resorted to creating work for themselves. This essay will bring out clearly the causes and the possible disadvantages of self employment.

First, competition for employment play a key role. With many individuals graduating from different institutions, there is no assurance at all to land on a job immediately. For instance, many people would be called for an interview , but only those with experience would be contacted. This leaves the fresh graduates in darkness and frustration. Furthermore, salary is another issue at hand. In as much as many people are paid a good amount and in time, not all of them are contented with this. Take this as an example, monthly I could be getting a net salary pay of 50,000 , but this ain't enough to cather for all my needs. In addition, harsh managers irritate employees, which would finally force them to quit their primary source of income, and engage themselves in a more private sector.

On the other hand, despite the pros of self employment, there are always cons. One of them is job security. Opening your own business is always riveting, but it's not always promised for one to succeed. Farming for instance is always a good sector to indulge in, but with competition and natural calamities, it can lead to greater losses. To add on that, adequate planning is required, before one is fully prepared to work fully by themselves.

In conclusion, self employment has many advantages, but it requires full preparedness to ensure its success.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address both questions: you explain self-employment through competition for jobs, dissatisfaction with pay, and difficult managers, then discuss insecurity and business losses. These are relevant reasons, and the example of farming helps illustrate the risks. However, some points are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the salary example gives a figure but does not show how it leads someone to become self-employed, while the point about harsh managers is only briefly linked to that choice. The disadvantages section is narrower, focusing mainly on uncertainty and planning. Develop each main idea with a clearer cause-and-effect explanation and a specific example, and ensure the conclusion reflects the disadvantages as well as the benefits.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph explaining reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “First,” “Furthermore,” and “On the other hand” makes the main stages easy to follow, and the ideas generally progress logically. This already provides a coherent structure, but some linking is mechanical, and the first body paragraph moves quickly between employment competition, salary, and managers without showing how these points connect. “To add on that” also introduces planning without a clear link to the preceding discussion of business risk. Use transitions that express the precise relationship between ideas, and group related points so each paragraph develops a more continuous line of reasoning.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the topic, including “competition for employment,” “job security,” “natural calamities,” and “adequate planning.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and you attempt some less common expressions. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or too informal for an academic essay: “leaves the fresh graduates in darkness,” “salary pay,” “ain't,” and “engage themselves in a more private sector.” “Riveting” does not fit the intended meaning of starting a business, and “cather” is misspelled. Choose more precise, formal expressions and check collocations; for example, describe graduates as facing uncertainty, and say that they may start their own businesses.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses in “With many individuals graduating from different institutions” and the conditional idea in “it can lead to greater losses.” Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “competition for employment play” needs subject–verb agreement (“plays”), and “there is no assurance … to land on a job” has an awkward grammatical construction. The sentence beginning “Take this as an example” also shifts into first person and uses a less controlled structure. Punctuation is inconsistent, with spaces before commas and unnecessary spacing. Review agreement, clause construction, and punctuation, and aim to make complex sentences accurate as well as varied.

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