Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

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)

There is an ongoing debate regarding the members of family who work alongside their elders to flourish the family business. This is practiced in many parts of the world which help families to stay connected and strengthen their bonds. Working in a family business have both advantages and disadvantages that will be discussed in this essay.

On the one hand, many families feel pride in the work that carries the legacy of their forefathers. As these businesses took a lot of time to develop and flourish, they need heirs from the family to take over and continue. Family business helps to stay connected and united by keeping a family members on one platform. Moreover, this practice also brings profit back in single place among different people like a father who is working with his sons. Another advantage of this inherited work is that many individuals who do not want to struggle outside for finding jobs, can simply join their family firm. Mostly, these people only need to maintain or expand the business without the stress of establishment.

On the other hand, many youngsters want to pursue different careers other than joining their own family work. They want to explore other possibilities or try their own capabilities into professional fields like medicine,arts or engineering. Some prefer working jobs rather than businesses due to workplace discipline and environment. Many others want to be known with their own identity rather than with family name. Although working in a family business is easy and conveniant in many ways, it can also lead to family disputes on inheritance and shares among children.

In conclusion, while both perspectives hold merit, I believe young people must be given a fair chance to freely choose their future. It must be their own will to either join family business or explore the life on their own terms. This is beneficial for both families and youngsters without creating unnecessary conflict and providing them support.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses, presenting a clear position throughout. The introduction outlines the scope of the essay, and the body paragraphs effectively explore ideas such as preserving legacy, financial unity, and job security on the one hand, versus career exploration and potential family disputes on the other. The conclusion clearly reiterates the writer's stance that young people should have a free choice. The ideas are relevant and sufficiently extended, meeting the criteria for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression with a logical arrangement of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the advantages, the disadvantages, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand', 'On the other hand', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text, although some referencing is slightly mechanical (e.g., repeating 'many families' and 'many youngsters'). Overall organisation is logical throughout, matching the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The writer uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'flourish', 'forefathers', 'legacy', and 'inheritance'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'bring profit back in single place' instead of 'in a single place', and 'conveniant' which is a spelling error. Despite these occasional flaws, communication is never impeded, placing the vocabulary firmly in the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures reasonably well. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'Working in a family business have' (subject-verb agreement error), 'outside for finding jobs' (awkward prepositional phrase), and 'try their own capabilities into' (incorrect preposition). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are noticeable, they rarely impede communication. This corresponds closely to the Band 6 descriptor.

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