Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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 6.0)

In various parts of the world, family businesses are often accompanied by the members of the family. This idea has both the benefits and the drawbacks. However, in my opinion, the advantages of this trend outweigh disadvantages. This essay will discuss the both and share my reason for this answer.

The most prominent benefit of family members running the family business is the strongest foundation for the firm. Due to the inter-personal relationship of them, they can easily trust each other providing a strong and smooth channel of communication. This make the whole process running in a very constructive manner. Moreover, the job duties are well designed and understood by all of them providing a very good work environment. For example, Tigercat industries is a family owned business and has been successfully operating their business in the waterloo region for years.

On the contrary, if their are conflicts in the family, the business will suffer major fall down. Because of the family members running the business, they all will be involved in a situation of conflict and will affect all at the same time. It will be very hard to control the situation due to the absence of hierarchy. But, if the understanding is there and they all listen to the elders, such situations can be handled easily and will affect no one. For example, in private companies, if an employee leaves, they have to look for a new worker which is sometimes tough to find the right person. But, in a family no one leaves due to strong family ties.

In conclusion, eventhough there are sometimes disagreements within the family, but with love and care these can be sorted out and it keeps the organisation running.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses and presents a clear personal position that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. However, some ideas are more fully developed than others. For instance, the advantage regarding communication and the example of Tigercat Industries are reasonably clear, but the counter-argument regarding conflicts is somewhat under-developed and relies on vague reasoning rather than deep elaboration. To move to a higher band, the ideas would need to be more thoroughly extended with more precise examples and a deeper exploration of how family dynamics impact business operations over the long term.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. Information is generally organized logically, moving from benefits to drawbacks and finally to a concluding thought. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. For instance, transitional phrases like 'On the contrary' and 'In conclusion' are utilized, but referencing and logical flow between sentences occasionally feel abrupt, such as the sudden shift in the third paragraph to private companies and employee turnover. Paragraphing is used, but the progression of ideas within paragraphs requires smoother transitions to achieve a more natural flow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The writer uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'inter-personal relationship', 'constructive manner', and 'organisation'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'major fall down' instead of 'decline' or 'collapse', and 'accompaned by the members of the family'. Spelling and word formation are generally clear enough not to impede communication, but instances of awkward phrasing prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher level. To improve, the writer should focus on natural collocations and precise phrasing rather than relying on basic or slightly unnatural word combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and conditional structures such as 'if their are conflicts in the family, the business will suffer'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues ('this make the whole process', 'if their are conflicts'), article misuse ('in a family', 'the both'), and punctuation errors in compound sentences. Nevertheless, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. To achieve a stronger grammatical profile, the writer needs to eliminate basic agreement and article errors while demonstrating greater control over complex sentence patterns and punctuation.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.