Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-01

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 many people choose to be self-employed, rather than to work for a company or organisation. I think people choose self- employed this is because they want to become financially independence an early age. however, working for organisation need huge working hours.

To commence with, in recent years, many people choose to be self-employed. The primary reason is that choosing to be self-employed they may have more time to spend quality time with their family. furthermore, people do not need to long-term working hours. In addition, people may not have excessive pressure for their companies. For example, self-employees have their own preperence when they need to close or open their companies. no one need to others permission. as a result, self-employee can have more opportunities to earn huge amount of money because it is their own business. therefore, in the future, they gradually become financially independent. however, it also has some major risk to earn a lot of money.

Despite these benefits, self-employment has several disadvantages. Firstly, it does not provide a stable income. Unlike employees, self-employed people may not earn money regularly, especially when they are starting their businesses. This can create financial stress and make it difficult to manage daily expenses. Secondly, they do not usually receive benefits such as paid holidays, health insurance, or retirement plans. Therefore, they must manage these expenses themselves. Finally, running a business can be stressful because people have to deal with many responsibilities, such as finding customers, managing finances, and solving problems.

In conclusion, people choose self-employment because it offers freedom, flexibility, and the possibility of earning more money. However, financial uncertainty and greater responsibilities can make it challenging. Therefore, people should carefully consider both sides before making this decision.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses both questions and maintains a relevant overall position: self-employment is attractive for its flexibility and earning potential, but it brings financial uncertainty and responsibility. The disadvantages are explained with useful detail, including irregular income, lack of benefits, and the demands of finding customers and managing finances. The reasons for choosing this path are less fully developed: family time and reduced pressure are mentioned, but the explanation of how these benefits arise is brief, and the claim that people seek financial independence is not clearly connected to the examples. The response therefore covers the task well, while some ideas remain general or unevenly supported. To strengthen it, develop one or two reasons with a specific example or clearer cause-and-effect explanation. The length requirement is met; 17 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, a paragraph on reasons, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion that summarises the main points. The disadvantages paragraph progresses logically from unstable income to missing benefits and then business responsibilities. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Finally” help guide the reader. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear in the reasons paragraph: “To commence with” and “In addition” are followed by several loosely connected claims, while “however” appears in places where the contrast is not fully established. Some references, such as “it” in “it also has some major risk,” are vague. Use fewer formulaic transitions and connect each point explicitly to the central reason or example.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses enough topic-related vocabulary to discuss the issue, including “stable income,” “financial stress,” “paid holidays,” “health insurance,” and “retirement plans.” These phrases make the disadvantages clear, and “financial uncertainty” is an effective summary in the conclusion. However, the first half contains noticeable word-choice, form, and spelling problems that limit precision, such as “financially independence,” “self-employees,” “preperence,” and “huge amount of money.” Some expressions are also unnatural, including “long-term working hours” and “no one need to others permission.” Aim for accurate collocations and consistent terms such as “self-employed people” or “business owners.” Proofreading spelling and choosing more natural phrases would make the vocabulary more controlled and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is some variety in sentence forms, including contrast clauses (“Unlike employees…”), reason clauses (“because people have to deal with…”), and a conditional-style explanation of consequences. The later paragraphs are generally easier to follow, and several sentences are grammatically well controlled. However, some errors in the opening and reasons paragraph affect accuracy: “I think people choose self-employed this is because…” has an incomplete, tangled structure; “working for organisation need…” has problems with the subject and verb; and “no one need to others permission” is not correctly formed. Capitalisation after full stops is also inconsistent, as in “however” and “as a result.” Practise building one clear main clause at a time, checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries, then add subordinate clauses where appropriate.

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