Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

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

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)

In some nations, relatives prefer to work together to manage and operate family-owned businesses. While this trend offers several benefits, it also has some drawbacks. In my opinion, the advantages of family business, such as trust and shared responsibilities, outweigh its disadvantages, such as family conflicts and lack of professionalism.

There are numerous pros associated with this phenomenon. The major benefit is that family members can easily trust each other. This is because they know their family members well and can rely on them to manage the business responsibly. As a result, family members can work together more efficiently and maintain a strong level of trust. Another advantage is that they can equally divide their tasks. For example, one family member can manage the finances, while another can deal with customers and handle daily operations.

Despite these benefits, this development also has some negative effects. The primary disadvantage is that personal problems can affect the business growth and development. This is mainly because personal disagreements can affect business decisions and create tension at work. Another drawback is that poor professional standards. For instance, some family members may receive positions because of their relationship rather than their skills, which can negatively affect the business. Threfore, the company may not perform efficiently.

In conclusion, although working togther with family members in businesses has some disadvantages, such as family disagreements and poor workplace discipline, I believe that its advantages, particularly trust among family memebers and equal task division for each family member, outweigh its drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses and clearly stating a personal position in the introduction and conclusion. Ideas are relevant and supported with explanations and examples, such as task division between finance and daily operations. However, some arguments remain slightly repetitive and under-developed, particularly when discussing trust and workplace discipline. The explanation that family members might receive positions based on relationships rather than skills is a good point, but it could be extended further. Overall, the content fully satisfies the requirements for Band 6.5, leaning towards Band 7 given the clear stance and well-rounded perspective, but fits comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor due to some under-development of supporting ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response has a clear overall progression and is logically organised into four paragraphs: an introduction, two body paragraphs presenting opposing views, and a conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'While this trend offers', 'The major benefit is', 'Despite these benefits', and 'In conclusion' are used effectively to guide the reader through the text. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct central theme. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional mechanical transitions keep it from reaching a higher band level. For instance, the transition between sentences in the third paragraph could be smoother. Overall, the coherence and cohesion of the essay strongly support clear communication, fitting the Band 7 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully using terms such as 'family-owned businesses', 'shared responsibilities', 'professional standards', and 'workplace discipline'. There are occasional attempts at less common vocabulary, but some minor word choice and spelling inaccuracies are present, such as spelling 'Therefore' as 'Threfore' in the third paragraph and the slight typo 'memebers' in the conclusion. Phrases like 'poor professional standards' in the third paragraph lack a verb component, resulting in a minor grammatical-lexical slip. Nonetheless, the vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding the reader, aligning well with the criteria for Band 6.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional and subordinate clauses like 'While this trend offers several benefits, it also has some drawbacks' and 'This is mainly because personal disagreements can affect business decisions.' There is good control over basic grammar, and many sentences are entirely error-free. However, a few structural slips occur, such as the incomplete sentence fragment 'Another drawback is that poor professional standards.' Additionally, minor typos like 'togther' are present. Despite these occasional errors, punctuation is generally sound, and the grammatical mistakes rarely impede communication. This balance of mixed structures and manageable errors places the grammar performance solidly at Band 6.5.

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