Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-02

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 recent years, employment has become increasingly common. This essay will examine the main reasons behind this case and discuss its drawbacks on people's job.

Individuals are choosing to be self-employed, rather than working in an corportations because of freedom, flexibility and being your own boss. In other words, employess potiential to earn more money for their financial needs and they want to be the backbone of their company to run successfull. This is because pupils have more stress to handle the work to complete the tasks before deadline. For example, a manager has less patience and is expressing intense of frustration or anger directly towards staff. This results, workers independently choosing to build their own career path like small business.

There are several disadvantages of working under a authorization. Employess have more responsiblity and stress to finish the volume. Moreover, there is no guranteed employee benefits in a year such as paid holidays, paid sick leave or employee -provided insurance. People may not earn the same amount every month. For instance, a freelance graphic gesigner may have many clients one month but very few the next month.They have to manage almost everything themselves, such as finding customers and handling financial problems. Therefore, people may work longer hours because they are responsible for sucess of their business.

In conclusion, although self-employment offers greater freedom and flexibility, it can also involve unstable income and greater responsibility. Therefore, people should carefully consider both the benefits and drawbacks before choosing to become self-employed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses both questions and maintains a relevant focus. It gives plausible reasons for self-employment—freedom, flexibility, earning potential and escaping pressure from managers—and identifies disadvantages including uncertain income, lack of benefits, responsibility and long hours. The example of a freelance designer illustrates income fluctuations, while the conclusion summarises the central contrast. However, some reasons are not fully explained: the link between wanting to be “the backbone” of a company and choosing self-employment is unclear, and the discussion of workplace stress could explain more directly why running one’s own business is preferable. The disadvantages are somewhat more clearly developed. To strengthen the response, explain each main idea in a more precise cause-and-effect sequence and support the less clear points with relevant detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure: an introduction, one paragraph on reasons, one on disadvantages, and a concluding summary. Ideas generally progress logically within these sections, and linking expressions such as “For example,” “Moreover,” and “Therefore” help signal relationships. This coherent organisation meets the lower-band expectations and shows some features of stronger progression. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical, and some connections between sentences are unclear. For instance, “This results, workers independently choosing…” does not clearly connect the manager’s behaviour to the decision to become self-employed. The phrase “There are several disadvantages of working under a authorization” also appears to introduce employment by an organisation, although the paragraph discusses self-employment. Use more precise referencing and transitions, and ensure each topic sentence accurately signals the paragraph’s focus.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses a relevant range of vocabulary, including “flexibility,” “financial needs,” “paid holidays,” “sick leave,” “freelance,” and “unstable income.” These terms allow the reader to understand the main points, and there are attempts to discuss employment in specific contexts. However, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “corportations,” “employess,” “guranteed,” and “gesigner.” Some phrases are also unnatural or unclear, such as “run successfull,” “expressing intense of frustration,” and “working under a authorization.” These issues sometimes make the intended meaning harder to follow. Build accuracy by checking spelling and choosing natural collocations, especially when describing business ownership, workplace pressure and income. A wider range is less important than using familiar vocabulary precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay includes both simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, such as “although self-employment offers greater freedom and flexibility, it can also involve unstable income and greater responsibility.” This contrast is clear, and several sentences communicate complete ideas. Some grammatical errors remain, however, particularly with articles, sentence construction and agreement. For example, “working in an corportations” has an incorrect article, while “This results, workers independently choosing…” is not a complete, correctly linked sentence. In “People may not earn the same amount every month,” the structure is accurate, but nearby sentences sometimes combine ideas without clear grammatical connections. Aim to form complete clauses and check articles and verb forms. More consistent control of these patterns would make the argument easier to read.

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