Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-11

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Write about the following topic:

In many countries, family members work together in their family business.

Do you think family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Family-owned business are currently trending in society where a few family members come together and start a business. I totally agree that this can be more advantageous because this kind of company would have individuals who can take ownership of tasks and also built a work environment where financial decisions can be trusted easily. However, there is always a risk of company being shut down and people can often have difficulty in managing work-life balance.

Firstly, the individuals will have a sense of responsibility and urgency to finish their tasks before deadlines as it their own set-up. Secondly, while working on projects they can go above and beyond for cracking a deal. For instance, a family member will not be constantly checking on the working hours to log out and go home instead their focus would one task achievement. Consequently, this will be a stepping stone for a company to grow on a large scale.

On the contrary, the can be some repercussions such as a single financial loss can affect every member in the family resulting in loosing their livelihood. Additionally, some time it becomes difficult for individuals to separate work and personal life. It can subsequently result in toxic environment at home or vice-versa, if there is continuous stress in a person's life. This could result in the productivity of tasks and cannot get the desired output.

In conclusion, there seems a very great opportunity for family businesses to grow rapidly because of the trusted people around in office however, it cannot be ignored that it could create conflicts between individuals at home.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both advantages and disadvantages of family businesses. The position is clear from the introduction and maintained throughout. Ideas are relevant, such as the sense of responsibility and the risk of financial loss, though they could be further extended with more specific examples or deeper analysis to reach a higher band. The conclusion effectively summarises the main points, ensuring the task requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', 'Consequently', and 'On the contrary' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and there are minor issues with referencing, such as 'the can be some repercussions' which lacks a clear subject. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, contributing to the overall flow of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the writer to express ideas clearly. There are some attempts at less common collocations like 'stepping stone' and 'above and beyond'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and form, such as 'loosing' instead of 'losing' and 'some time' instead of 'sometimes'. These errors do not impede communication, but they limit the precision and sophistication of the language used.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Family-owned business are') and missing articles or prepositions ('result in toxic environment'). Some sentences are slightly awkward, such as 'it cannot be ignored that it could create conflicts'. Despite these errors, the grammar does not prevent the reader from understanding the intended message.

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