Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19

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)

It is undeniable that in several nations, some individuals prefer to work in their family run business instead of doing a job in other companies. Although family business have a few drawbacks, I believe that the adavantages of working in a family owned business always outweigh the disadvantaes.

One of the major advantage of having a family business for its members is independence. This is because in a family firm, people usually have the autonomy of making decision. They can make their own choices related to investment, profits, losses and business risks. This freedom provides them a snese of satisfaction and accomplishment, as they will be solely responsible for the outcomes of their decisions.

The second benefit of working in a family enterprise is flexibility of working hours. Unlike, doing a job in other companies, people can choose their working hours according to their schedule. According to the need of business, they can expand their work hours or they can minimise them, owing to other prefernces such as family time, sports and travelling.

On the other hand, sometimes family run business might have some adverse effects such as it can raise family conflicts. To explain, several people could become lazy rather than giving their proper contribution to their business, they not only start to priortize other unnecessary preferences but also blame other family members for any kind of business losses. Sometimes only one person has to take all the responsibilties. Thus it could effect family relations.

To conclude, however family business migh have the ability to affect family bonds, the benefits are far more if all family members give their contribution properly, and understand their duties. It could provide them immense merits

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt, discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses and stating a clear position throughout. The writer presents relevant ideas such as independence and flexibility as advantages, and family conflicts as a drawback. While some arguments are slightly generalised, they are sufficiently extended and supported with explanations regarding decision-making and working hours. This performance aligns well with the Band 7 descriptor, as the position is clear and all parts of the task are adequately addressed and supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay displays clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph has a distinct focus, moving smoothly from the introduction to body paragraphs discussing advantages and disadvantages, and concluding appropriately. Cohesive devices are used effectively, with transitional phrases like 'One of the major advantage', 'The second benefit', and 'On the other hand' guiding the reader through the text. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, making the overall arrangement coherent despite minor mechanical issues in referencing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The writer uses an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'autonomy', 'accomplishment', and 'adverse effects'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'adavantages' instead of advantages, 'disadvantaes' instead of disadvantages, 'snese' instead of sense, and 'prefernces' instead of preferences. Furthermore, minor collocation slips occur, such as 'autonomy of making decision' rather than 'autonomy in making decisions'. These errors do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures such as conditional and dependent clauses effectively (e.g., 'Although family business have a few drawbacks, I believe that...'). However, there are several grammatical errors present, including subject-verb agreement issues ('family business have' instead of businesses have; 'family business migh have' instead of might have), punctuation slips, and missing plural markers. While these errors occur regularly, they rarely impede communication, reflecting the characteristics of Band 6 grammar.

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