Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17

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)

An increasing number of people are encouraged to start their own business nowadays, and in several parts of the world, family members are running a business. While this is exceptionally beneficial to them by increasing family understanding and generating more profits, the demerits associated with an increase in unemployment can not be ignored.

The most prominent benefit of family-oriented business is that it plays a vital role in strengthening family bonds. Since all family members work together under one roof, they adapt to each other's nature and attitude, thereby enhancing the sense of respect for everyone. Moreover, they can utilize all available funds to expand their business rather than investing in parts as required individually. For example, if a business is only one story, it can be expanded to a multi-story building to attract more customers. As a result, the annual revenue of the business can be increased immensely.

Although a family business has undeniable merits, it also affects society negatively by increasing unemployment. This is because several employees are required to run the business, which is fulfilled by family members. Therefore, a family-oriented business does not hire more than one worker, except for cleaning. To illustrate, many small businesses in India merely employ anyone because all the work is done by members of the family. Consequently, disadvantaged people can not secure employment for earnings.

In conclusion, even though a family-oriented business can be full of advantages for families, I believe disadvantages linked to an increase in the unemployment rate are inevitable.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses, presenting a clear position throughout. The writer's main ideas are supported with examples, such as the discussion of expanding a building and the reference to small businesses in India. However, the choice of the primary disadvantage—linking family businesses directly to an increase in societal unemployment—is somewhat unconventional and represents a slight strain in task interpretation, as family businesses do not inherently drive macro-level unemployment. The ideas are relevant and generally well-developed, but this logical leap prevents the task response from achieving the highest bands. Overall, the essay adequately covers the prompt's core question regarding whether advantages outweigh disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay presents a clear logical organization with an introduction, two distinct body paragraphs exploring opposing views, and a concluding paragraph. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the arguments, as seen with phrases like 'The most prominent benefit', 'Moreover', and 'Although a family business has undeniable merits'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each main paragraph focusing on a single overarching theme—benefits in the second paragraph and drawbacks in the third. However, referencing and transitions between sentences can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical, and the logical transition into the societal unemployment argument feels slightly abrupt. Nonetheless, the overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common items and varied phrasing, such as 'exceptionally beneficial', 'strengthening family bonds', 'annual revenue', and 'disadvantaged people'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as 'merely employ anyone' where the writer likely meant 'hardly employ anyone' or 'scarcely employ anyone'. Another minor awkwardness is found in 'investing in parts as required individually'. Despite these minor lexical lapses, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The writer demonstrates a satisfactory mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and conditional structures, such as 'Since all family members work together under one roof, they adapt to each other's nature...' and 'if a business is only one story, it can be expanded...'. There is a good degree of grammatical control overall, with many error-free sentences. Minor errors do occur, such as the passive voice construction in 'merely employ anyone' or the omission of an article in 'is only one story'. Punctuation is generally accurate, and the grammatical errors present are infrequent and do not impede communication.

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