Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-10

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 many countries, family business are common and family members often work together to manage and develop their business. Although, this type of business have some more disadvantage, I believe that its advantages are greater because of family usually trust one another and share a strong sense of responsibility.

One major advantage of family business, is the high level of trust among family members. Unlike other businesses partnership, family members often have a close relationship and are more willing to help each other in difficult situation. Furthermore, family members may be more committed to the success of the business because they want to protect family reputation and provide financial security to future generations.

Another important benefit is that family business can preserve valuable skills and experience. For example a family who owns a restaurant business may pass it down recipe, cooking technique and customer service practice from one generation to another. As a result, the business can maintain its quality and attract loyal customers. In addition, family members can willing to work for longer hours and less pay when the business is facing financial challenges, which can help to survive the business in difficult situations.

However, family business have certain disadvantages as well. One common problem is personal relationship can interfere with professional decisions. For instance, a family member can promote less qualified family member as compared to some employee who is more qualified and skilled. This can create dissatisfaction and reduce productivity among all the employees. Moreover, disagreements between family members may damage company reputation and personal relationships.

In conclusion, although family business may face some challenges like favoritism and personal conflicts, i believe their advantages outweigh their disadvantages. Trust, commitment and the ability to pass the knowledge from one generation to another can contribute to long term success.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction to the conclusion: you believe the advantages of family businesses outweigh the disadvantages. You address both sides and support your view with relevant points, including trust, commitment, passing skills between generations, favoritism and family disagreements. The restaurant example helps explain how knowledge can be preserved, and the employee-promotion example shows a practical drawback. This meets the task well, although some claims remain general: for instance, the point about working longer hours for less pay could be explained further with a specific consequence for the business. Developing that idea and adding a little more detail to the examples would make the support more consistently convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion that restates your position. Ideas generally progress logically, and signposts such as “Furthermore,” “As a result,” and “However” help readers follow the argument. This shows effective organisation, though some linking is a little mechanical, with several paragraphs beginning by announcing another point (“One major advantage,” “Another important benefit”). There are also places where connections between ideas could be clearer, such as the shift from preserving skills to working longer hours. Use a wider range of natural transitions and make the relationship between supporting points explicit to strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of topic-related vocabulary, including “financial security,” “family reputation,” “loyal customers,” “favoritism,” and “productivity.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and some phrases show an attempt to be precise. However, inaccurate word forms and collocations sometimes make the expression less natural, as in “family business partnership,” “pass it down recipe,” and “customer service practice.” Repetition of “family business” and “family members” also limits flexibility. Aim to use more natural combinations and vary references to the business and its staff. For example, “pass down recipes” and “customer-service practices” would express your intended meanings more idiomatically.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “because,” “although,” and “when.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the argument is not impeded by the errors. Some grammatical problems persist, particularly with agreement, articles, plurals and sentence punctuation: “family business are common,” “this type of business have,” and “in difficult situation” need correction. The sentence beginning “For example a family…” also needs a comma after the introductory phrase, while “i believe” requires a capital letter. Review subject–verb agreement and singular/plural forms, then proofread punctuation and capitalization. More consistently accurate control of these patterns would improve the overall grammatical quality.

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