Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-03

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 6.5)

In this contemporary era, all family members are taking part in growing their family business in most of the nations. They work together in order to assist each other to fulfill the goals of their business. Although this arrangement can sometimes lead to personal disagreements, I believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

One of the main benefits of a family-owned business is the level of trust between its members. Since family members know each other well, they can communicate openly and share responsibilities more effectively. For example, mostly family members know strength and weakness of each other and they can assign their tasks according to that. Additionally, parents know experience and qualifications of their children and they can trust them with specific deals. Another advantage is that this trend can save operating costs such as paying salary to employees and giving other benefits like dental. Consequently, this creates a positive working environment and help business operate smoothly.

On the other hand, working with relatives can sometimes create conflits, especially when family members have different opinions about important business decisions. For instance, disagreements about financial matters or other profit distrubutions may damage personal relationships. Furthermore, a very close family member may receive special treatment even if they do not have requied skills for that job which can result in creating misunderstanding among members.

In conclusion, although family businesses may face challenges related to personal disagreements and favouritism, I believe their benefits are greater. Mutual trust and understanding can lead business to higher worth in market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

Your position is clear from the introduction—“the advantages outweigh the disadvantages”—and remains consistent in the conclusion. You address both sides with relevant reasons: trust, shared responsibilities and lower operating costs are balanced against conflict and favouritism. The examples about assigning tasks according to family members’ strengths and disagreements over profits help extend the discussion. This is a well-focused response with ideas generally supported, although some claims are broad or only briefly explained. For instance, the cost-saving point would be stronger if you clarified when family members can work without formal salaries or benefits, and the claim that trust leads to greater market value needs a more explicit link. Developing these points with a specific example would make the argument more convincing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages and a conclusion. Ideas progress logically, and signposting such as “Additionally,” “On the other hand” and “In conclusion” makes the argument easy to follow. Within the advantages paragraph, the discussion moves from trust to task allocation and then to operating costs. Cohesion is generally effective, though some links are a little mechanical, and “Consequently” does not clearly show how saving costs creates a positive working environment. The final sentence also introduces “higher worth in market” without fully connecting it to the earlier points. Make cause-and-effect links more explicit and use referencing to connect ideas rather than relying mainly on transition phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for the topic, including relevant expressions such as “family-owned business,” “operating costs,” “financial matters” and “special treatment.” These choices communicate the main ideas clearly, and you attempt some less common vocabulary. However, several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems limit precision: “higher worth in market” is unnatural, “profit distrubutions” is misspelled, and “requied skills” contains a spelling error. “Dental” is also vague in “benefits like dental”; a more precise phrase would be “dental insurance.” Some wording, such as “this trend,” is less exact than “this arrangement.” Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully, particularly in key topic words, so your vocabulary sounds more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including a concessive opening (“Although this arrangement can sometimes lead to personal disagreements”) and a conditional clause (“even if they do not have…”). Meaning remains clear throughout, and several sentences are well controlled. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “family members know strength and weakness of each other,” the nouns need appropriate articles or plural forms; “they can assign their tasks” would be clearer as “they can assign tasks.” In “this creates a positive working environment and help business operate smoothly,” the verbs do not agree, and “the business” needs an article. The final sentence also needs an article in “in market.” Review agreement, articles and plural forms, while continuing to use varied sentence structures.

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