Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-24

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)

Today in many nations, families run business together with its members. This essay will discuss the merits in terms of commitment and career growth; and the demerits like rivalry and under-placement and also highlight why I think its advantages outweighs its disadvantages.

On the one hand, family members running a business together can result in power tussle amongst them. Each individual member fights to occupy certain position such as taking up the CEO roles or other high roles. This if uncontrolled results in hatred and resentment and adversely affects the operation of the business. Also, they may end up employing their relations and friends rather than qualified individuals for the positions leading to poor business structure and operation and in overall, affecting the structure and the effective running of the business. For example, instead of employing a qualified marketing strategist, the position may be given to a family member who knows little to nothing about marketing thereby affecting the business sales.

On the other hands, family members building business together promotes trust and relationship. working together brings the members together helping them learn each others weakness, and provide support when needed. They face business challenge as a unit and overcoming these obstacles strengthens their believe in each other and further creates a lasting bond among them. Furthermore, family business provides a starting ground for their younger generation so that when they are done with college, they do not have to struggle with the already competitive labour market for a job placement. For example, The Otedele's daughter after graduation were integrated into their family's business without having to move from one office to another in search of jobs.

To sum up, proprietorship of business by its members comes with a lot of rivalry and employment of underqualified staffs. I believe its merits in strengthening the relationship among family members and providing easy career ride for its young and future members outweighs its drawbacks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear: you argue that the benefits of family businesses outweigh their drawbacks, and you address both sides of the question. The discussion of rivalry over senior roles and the risk of appointing unqualified relatives is relevant, as are the points about trust and opportunities for younger family members. Examples help make these ideas concrete. However, some support is more asserted than explained: for instance, the claim that working together builds trust could be linked more explicitly to how this improves business performance. The career-growth point also focuses mainly on easier job access, rather than wider development or advancement. More balanced explanation of these points would make the response more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction to disadvantages, advantages and a conclusion. The contrast between the two main body paragraphs is easy to follow, and signposts such as “On the one hand,” “Furthermore” and “To sum up” help guide the reader. This gives the response a coherent arrangement. Some linking is mechanical or awkward, however: “On the other hands” is not formed correctly, and the opening sentence’s list of merits and demerits is crowded. There is also some repetition of “business” and “members,” while the long sentence beginning “Also, they may end up employing…” contains several connected consequences that could be separated for clearer progression. More precise referencing and smoother transitions would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including terms such as “power tussle,” “resentment,” “qualified individuals,” “competitive labour market” and “lasting bond.” These choices help communicate the main ideas, and the meaning is generally clear. Some less common expressions are used inaccurately or do not fit the context naturally. “Under-placement” does not clearly describe the problem of giving roles to unsuitable relatives, while “easy career ride” is informal and imprecise. “Business challenge” also needs a more natural plural form, and “staffs” is not the usual plural of “staff.” Aim for accurate collocations and more formal phrasing, especially when describing employment and career opportunities; this will make your vocabulary more precise without requiring unnecessarily complex words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “so that,” “rather than” and “thereby,” and most of your meaning remains understandable. Some grammatical errors occur across the response. For example, “its advantages outweighs its disadvantages” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “Each individual member fights to occupy certain position” needs an article. In “working together brings the members together helping them learn,” the opening should be capitalised and the participle clause needs clearer punctuation. The sentence about the daughter also has a mismatch between “daughter” and “were integrated.” Review agreement, articles and sentence boundaries, and proofread punctuation. Greater consistency in these areas would improve accuracy while preserving your attempts at complex structures.

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