A Family Member You Might Like to Work With in the Future

Part 3 follow-up questions

These are the discussion questions examiners asked after this cue card. Sample answers are shown where available.

1. 1. What kinds of family businesses are common in your country?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Plain listing sentences joined with commas and 'and', plus the simple connector 'so', give a direct list of business types and one straightforward reason (trust), in everyday vocabulary.

   Food businesses are very common, like restaurants, street stalls and bakeries, where every family member has a job to do. There are also traditional trades passed down through generations. For example, I know a street of tailors in Hội An where the grandmother cuts the fabric, her son measures the customers, and a grandchild manages the social media. Small shops, motorbike repair, guesthouses and farms are usually family businesses too. I think the reason is that family gives trust for free, so you do not need much money to start. Some family businesses are big, but most of them are small, with everyone helping out.

   Why this band

   • FC“I think the reason is that family gives trust for free, so you do not need much money to start.” — The reasoning is stated in a flat, separate sentence with the basic connector 'so'. A band 7 answer would more likely integrate this cause-and-effect into the same sentence as the examples, using a phrase like 'What they all share is that...'.
   • LR“the grandmother cuts the fabric, her son measures the customers” — This is simple, literal present-tense description. A higher band answer would likely add a more vivid framing detail, such as describing 'three generations under one roof', to make the same image more precise and memorable.
   • GRA“Small shops, motorbike repair, guesthouses and farms are usually family businesses too.” — This sentence is a simple list followed by a plain verb phrase. A 7.5 answer would likely extend this list with an additional descriptive phrase, such as 'in tourist towns' or 'in the countryside', attached directly without a new clause.

   Band 7.0

   The tag 'to be honest' and reflective aside 'I'd say' mark natural spoken fluency, and the sentence about what these businesses share links two reasons with 'and', showing more range than a 6.5 answer's separated sentences.

   Food is probably the biggest one — restaurants, street stalls, bakeries, that kind of thing, where every family member has their own station. Then there are trades passed down through generations, and I actually know a street of tailors in Hội An where you'll see the grandmother cutting fabric, her son measuring customers and a grandchild running the social media. Small shops, motorbike repair, guesthouses in tourist towns and farms in the countryside tend to be family-run too, to be honest. What they all share, I'd say, is that they need trust more than capital, and family provides that for free. Larger ones exist, of course, but the vast majority are these small, everyone-pitches-in operations.

   Why this band

   • FC“tend to be family-run too, to be honest” — The trailing tag 'to be honest' softens a generalising claim, a natural spoken habit for signalling a slightly informal opinion. A 6.5 answer would more likely state this as a plain fact without any softening language.
   • LR“What they all share, I'd say, is that they need trust more than capital” — Framing the shared feature as something 'they need... more than capital' is a moderately more abstract, economic way of expressing the idea than a 6.5 answer's simpler 'family gives trust for free'. It shows developing precision in vocabulary.
   • GRA“Small shops, motorbike repair, guesthouses in tourist towns and farms in the countryside tend to be family-run too, to be honest.” — This sentence extends a simple list with two prepositional modifiers attached directly to individual items, showing more grammatical control than a 6.5 answer's flatter list. It is not yet as compact as a 7.5 answer's use of apposition for the same kind of detail.

   Band 7.5

   The appositive phrase 'three generations under one roof' compresses a whole extra idea into three words, and the closing list 'small, dense, everyone-pitches-in operations' uses a compact string of modifiers typical of band 7.5's flexible grammar.

   Food is the big one, I'd say — restaurants, street stalls, bakeries, the kind of place where every family member has a station. Then there are trades handed down through generations: a street of tailors I know in Hội An has the grandmother cutting fabric, her son measuring customers and a grandchild running the social media, three generations under one roof. Small shops, motorbike repair, guesthouses in tourist towns and farms in the countryside are typically family-run as well. What unites them, I think, is that they need trust more than capital, and family supplies trust free of charge. Larger family businesses certainly exist, but the overwhelming majority are these small, dense, everyone-pitches-in operations.

   Why this band

   • FC“Then there are trades handed down through generations:” — The colon here sets up an extended example in one continuous flow rather than starting a completely new sentence, showing tight, deliberate organisation of ideas. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely use a full stop and a separate opening sentence like 'There are also traditional trades'.
   • LR“family supplies trust free of charge” — 'Free of charge' is a slightly more idiomatic, formal-sounding collocation than the plainer 'for free' a lower band would use, giving the sentence a touch more polish. It shows a marginally wider range of ways to express the same simple idea.
   • GRA“three generations under one roof” — This noun phrase is added directly after the tailor example with no verb or connector, functioning as a compressed appositive summary of the whole anecdote. This kind of verbless compression is characteristic of the flexible, economical grammar expected at band 7.5.

2. 2. What effect have globalisation and the internet had on the way business is done?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Short, separate sentences and the plain connector 'so' give a direct claim, a personal example, and a simple summary, all in everyday vocabulary like 'good and bad' and 'very fast answers'.

   I think the biggest effect is that distance does not matter anymore. My design studio in Da Nang works for a client in Germany that we have never met in person. We got the job through a freelance website, we talk on video calls, and we get paid in a currency we never actually see. Ten years ago, that work would have gone to a company in Germany instead. For small businesses, this is both good and bad: a shop can now sell to the whole country through Shopee, but it also has to compete with the whole country. Also, customers now expect very fast answers. So business has become easier to reach but also more tiring.

   Why this band

   • FC“So business has become easier to reach but also more tiring.” — The conclusion is signalled with the bare connector 'So' as a fresh, final sentence. A band 7 answer would more likely round off the same idea with a phrase like 'Overall, I'd say', giving it a more reflective, spoken finish.
   • LR“this is both good and bad” — 'Good and bad' is extremely basic, general vocabulary for describing a mixed effect. A higher band answer would likely use a more specific word here, such as 'double-edged', to capture the same contrast more precisely.
   • GRA“We got the job through a freelance website, we talk on video calls, and we get paid in a currency we never actually see.” — This sentence lists three facts with the same simple subject-verb pattern repeated, joined by commas and 'and'. A 7.5 answer would likely vary the structure by using nouns instead of repeated clauses, such as 'the meetings are video calls, and payment lands in...'.

   Band 7.0

   The opener 'Honestly, I'd say' and closing 'Overall, I'd say' bookend the answer with natural spoken reflection, while the semicolon-free sentence listing three parallel facts about the German client shows more grammatical range than a 6.5 answer's repeated subject-verb pattern.

   Honestly, I'd say they've removed distance as an excuse. My studio in Da Nang currently designs for a client in Germany whom none of us has ever actually met — the brief came through a freelance platform, the meetings are video calls, and payment arrives in a currency we never touch. Ten years ago, that work would probably have gone to a German agency instead. For small businesses the effect is fairly double-edged: a family shop can now sell to the whole country through Shopee, but it also has to compete with the whole country. Speed has changed too, since customers expect answers within minutes. Overall, I'd say it's made business more accessible and more relentless in roughly equal measure.

   Why this band

   • FC“For small businesses the effect is fairly double-edged” — This phrase names the contrast explicitly with a single evaluative word before explaining it, showing more efficient idea-signalling than a 6.5 answer's flatter 'this is both good and bad'. A 6.5 response would be more likely to state the contrast only through the following example, without naming it first.
   • LR“Ten years ago, that work would probably have gone to a German agency instead” — The modal hedge 'probably' softens a factual-sounding claim in a natural, spoken way, showing awareness that this is a plausible inference rather than a certainty. This is a moderately more sophisticated habit than the flatter, unhedged statement a 6.5 answer tends to make.
   • GRA“the brief came through a freelance platform, the meetings are video calls, and payment arrives in a currency we never touch” — This list varies its grammar across three parts rather than repeating the same subject-verb pattern three times as a 6.5 answer does. It shows developing sentence variety without reaching full compression.

   Band 7.5

   The closing phrase 'without a second thought' and the idiomatic aside 'never so much as touch' show precise, natural collocation, while the varied three-part list about the German client avoids any repeated grammatical pattern, typical of band 7.5 range.

   They've removed distance as an excuse, essentially. My studio in Da Nang currently designs for a client in Germany none of us has ever met — the brief arrived through a freelance platform, meetings happen over video call, and payment lands in a currency we never so much as touch. A decade ago, that work would have gone to a German agency without a second thought. For small businesses the effect cuts both ways: a family shop can now sell to the whole country through Shopee, but it's competing with the whole country too. Speed has shifted as well, with customers expecting answers within minutes rather than days. Overall, it's made business more accessible and more relentless in roughly equal measure.

   Why this band

   • FC“For small businesses the effect cuts both ways” — This idiomatic framing names the contrast in a single vivid image before unpacking it, giving the argument a confident, economical structure. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would be more likely to name the contrast with a plainer word like 'double-edged' or simply describe it without naming it at all.
   • LR“payment lands in a currency we never so much as touch” — 'Never so much as touch' is a genuinely idiomatic intensifying structure, going further than the plain 'never touch' a lower band would use. It adds emphasis through a natural, native-like phrase rather than a simple negative statement.
   • GRA“the brief arrived through a freelance platform, meetings happen over video call, and payment lands in a currency we never so much as touch” — Each of the three clauses uses a different grammatical pattern and a different verb, avoiding the repetition a 6.5 answer's parallel structure shows. This deliberate variety across a list is a mark of the flexible range expected at 7.5.

3. 3. What are the advantages of working for a large company?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   This answer states each advantage in its own short sentence connected loosely with 'also', giving concrete examples in plain vocabulary such as 'famous name' and 'good health insurance'.

   I think the main advantage is resources. A friend of mine works at a big company in the Da Nang tech park, and last year the company sent her to Singapore for two weeks of paid training. My small studio can barely afford a new monitor. Large companies also offer clear career paths, good health insurance, and a famous name that helps you get a job later. It also feels safer because you are one of many employees, so a bad month does not put your job at risk like it would in a small company. But the price is that you own a smaller part of everything you do.

   Why this band

   • FC“It also feels safer because you are one of many employees, so a bad month does not put your job at risk like it would in a small company.” — The added point starts with the bare word 'also' and links its two halves with 'because' and 'so', a functional but mechanical way of building the argument. A band 7 answer would more likely open with a phrase like 'There's also a kind of safety in...' to integrate the idea more smoothly.
   • LR“a famous name that helps you get a job later” — 'Famous name' and 'helps you get a job later' are plain, literal phrases. A higher band answer would likely use a more idiomatic collocation for the same idea, such as a name that 'opens doors afterwards'.
   • GRA“A friend of mine works at a big company in the Da Nang tech park, and last year the company sent her to Singapore for two weeks of paid training.” — This sentence joins two facts with 'and', repeating the subject in a straightforward way. A 7.5 answer would likely compress this into a single clause using a passive structure, such as 'was flown to Singapore for two weeks of paid training last year', dropping the repeated subject.

   Band 7.0

   The reflective opener 'Resources, mainly, I'd say' gives a more considered, spoken start than a 6.5 answer's flat statement, and the sentence about safety links two reasons with 'since' and 'and', showing more grammatical range.

   Resources, mainly, I'd say. A friend of mine at one of the big firms in the Da Nang tech park was sent to Singapore for two weeks of paid training last year — my own studio can barely afford a new monitor. Large companies tend to offer structured career paths, proper health insurance, and a brand name that opens doors afterwards. There's also a kind of safety in being one of thousands, since a bad quarter doesn't threaten your job the way it would at a five-person studio. And you learn how things are done at scale, which is knowledge you can't really get anywhere else. The price, in my experience, is that you end up owning a smaller piece of anything.

   Why this band

   • FC“There's also a kind of safety in being one of thousands, since a bad quarter doesn't threaten your job the way it would at a five-person studio.” — This sentence integrates the cause with 'since' directly into the same flowing structure as the main claim, rather than splitting it into two separate sentences. A 6.5 answer would more likely present the safety point and its reason as two shorter, separately connected sentences.
   • LR“you learn how things are done at scale” — 'At scale' is a moderately less common, slightly technical collocation compared to simpler phrasing like 'in a big company'. It shows some developing precision in describing an abstract business concept.
   • GRA“And you learn how things are done at scale, which is knowledge you can't really get anywhere else.” — The relative clause 'which is knowledge you can't really get anywhere else' is attached directly to the main clause, adding an evaluative comment without a new sentence. This shows more complex sentence-building than a 6.5 response's separated statements, though it stops short of the fully compressed structures a 7.5 answer would use.

   Band 7.5

   The idiomatic phrase 'safety in numbers' and the compact colon-joined sentence about job security and scale-learning show the compressed, flexible grammar typical of band 7.5, alongside the more vivid word 'slice' in the closing line.

   Resources, mainly. A friend of mine at one of the big firms in the Da Nang tech park was flown to Singapore for two weeks of paid training last year — my own studio can barely stretch to a new monitor. Large companies tend to offer structured career paths, proper health insurance and a brand name that quietly opens doors afterwards. There's also safety in numbers: a bad quarter doesn't threaten your job the way it would at a five-person studio, and you pick up an understanding of how things run at scale that you simply can't acquire anywhere else. The trade-off, in my experience, is that you end up owning a far smaller slice of whatever you make.

   Why this band

   • FC“There's also safety in numbers:” — This idiomatic phrase names the concept in a compact, well-known expression before the colon unpacks it with an example, showing confident, economical organisation of the argument. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely explain the same idea in full sentences rather than compressing it into this familiar phrase.
   • LR“you end up owning a far smaller slice of whatever you make” — 'Slice' used figuratively for a portion of ownership is a genuinely less common, vivid word choice than the plainer 'part' or 'piece' a lower band would default to. It fits naturally with the food-adjacent metaphor while sounding precise rather than decorative.
   • GRA“a bad quarter doesn't threaten your job the way it would at a five-person studio, and you pick up an understanding of how things run at scale that you simply can't acquire anywhere else” — This long sentence links two separate advantages with 'and' but nests a further relative clause inside the second half, building layered complexity within one continuous structure. This kind of multi-level embedding without losing clarity is characteristic of the grammatical control expected at 7.5.

4. 4. Why is it better not to stay too long with one company?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Clear, separate sentences joined with 'but' and 'and' give one direct reason, one personal example, and a simple exception, in plain vocabulary such as 'very difficult' and 'too comfortable'.

   I think it is because your skills slowly become too specific to one company. A senior designer I worked with stayed at one company for twelve years, and when the company became smaller, he found job interviews very difficult. He was excellent at their software and their way of working, but not good at other things. Changing jobs sometimes forces you to learn new things again, shows you different problems, and is often the best way to get a real pay rise. But I do not think it is always true. If a company keeps giving you new kinds of work, you can grow for twenty years in the same place. The real danger is being too comfortable, not the company itself.

   Why this band

   • FC“But I do not think it is always true.” — The exception is introduced with the plain connector 'But' as a completely new, short sentence. A band 7 answer would more likely soften and integrate this shift with a phrase like 'That said, I don't think it's a strict rule', building it into the same flow of reasoning.
   • LR“he found job interviews very difficult” — 'Very difficult' is a common intensifier plus adjective pairing. A higher band answer would likely choose a more specific or vivid word for the same idea, such as describing the interviews as 'genuinely painful'.
   • GRA“He was excellent at their software and their way of working, but not good at other things.” — This sentence contrasts two ideas with a simple 'but', using a fairly basic adjective-plus-noun structure on each side. A 7.5 answer would likely use a more compressed, parallel structure without repeating 'at', pairing two adjectives directly before two prepositional phrases.

   Band 7.0

   The opener 'Honestly, I'd say' and the closing tag 'I'd say' bookend this answer with natural spoken reflection, while the long sentence about the senior designer links three ideas with dashes and 'but', showing more range than a 6.5 answer's shorter, separated sentences.

   Honestly, I'd say it's because your skills quietly narrow to whatever that one company needs. A senior designer I worked with had spent twelve years at a single firm, and when it downsized, he found interviews genuinely painful — he was brilliant at their software and their way of doing things, but rusty at pretty much everything else. Moving occasionally forces you to relearn, exposes you to different problems, and, frankly, is often the only real way to get a decent pay rise. That said, I don't think it's a strict rule, since a company that keeps changing what you work on can let you grow for twenty years in one place. The real danger, I'd say, is comfort, not the company itself.

   Why this band

   • FC“That said, I don't think it's a strict rule, since a company that keeps changing what you work on can let you grow for twenty years in one place.” — The concessive opener 'That said' signals a natural pivot to a qualifying point within the flow of the argument, rather than starting an entirely separate sentence with 'But'. A 6.5 answer would more likely mark this same shift with the plainer 'But I do not think it is always true'.
   • LR“your skills quietly narrow to whatever that one company needs” — 'Narrow' used as a verb here, paired with the adverb 'quietly', is a moderately more precise, almost literary way of describing skill specialisation than a 6.5 answer's flatter 'become too specific'. It shows developing lexical control without being a rare word.
   • GRA“he was brilliant at their software and their way of doing things, but rusty at pretty much everything else” — This contrast uses two single adjectives each followed by a prepositional phrase, a tighter parallel structure than a 6.5 answer's repeated 'good at... not good at'. It shows more economical grammar, though it isn't yet as compressed as a 7.5 answer's version without any repeated preposition.

   Band 7.5

   The tight parallel structure 'brilliant at their software... rusty at nearly everything else' drops repeated words for compact contrast, and the colon before the concession shows the confident, flexible punctuation typical of band 7.5.

   Because your skills quietly narrow to whatever that one company happens to need. A senior designer I worked with had put in twelve years at a single firm, and when it downsized, interviews turned out to be genuinely painful for him — brilliant at their software and their particular way of doing things, rusty at nearly everything else. Moving occasionally forces you to relearn, throws you at unfamiliar problems, and, frankly, is often the only realistic route to a decent pay rise. That said, I wouldn't call it a hard rule: a company that keeps reshaping what you work on can let you grow for twenty years without ever leaving. The real danger is comfort, not the company itself.

   Why this band

   • FC“That said, I wouldn't call it a hard rule:” — The colon here sets up the qualifying explanation as a direct continuation of the same sentence, rather than starting a fresh one, showing tight control over how ideas connect. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely place a full stop here and begin a new sentence to introduce the same exception.
   • LR“the only realistic route to a decent pay rise” — 'Realistic route' is a more precise, slightly idiomatic collocation than the plainer 'best way' or 'only way' a lower band would use. It adds a touch of natural, native-like phrasing to an otherwise ordinary idea.
   • GRA“brilliant at their software and their particular way of doing things, rusty at nearly everything else” — This structure drops the subject and verb entirely, pairing two bare adjective phrases separated only by a comma, which is a compressed, appositive-style contrast. A lower band would be more likely to use a full 'he was... but...' sentence rather than this verbless parallel structure.

5. 5. Why might some people not like to work in a family business?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   This answer lists each reason in its own short sentence, joined with 'also', giving a personal example and plain summarising vocabulary such as 'very good at her job' and 'fair thing to want'.

   I think the main reason is that you can never stop being a family member, even at work. A schoolfriend of mine works in her father's pharmacy in Hue, and she says the hardest part is not the working hours, it is that her father still treats her like a teenager, even though she is very good at her job now. In a family business, you might get promoted because of your age in the family, not because of how well you work. Also, if you argue at work, the argument follows you home to dinner. Some people also just want their own identity, not just the family name. I think that is a fair thing to want.

   Why this band

   • FC“Also, if you argue at work, the argument follows you home to dinner.” — This point is introduced with the plain, standalone connector 'Also' at the start of a fresh sentence. A band 7 answer would more likely fold this into the same sentence as the previous point using 'and', showing a smoother connection between related ideas.
   • LR“she says the hardest part is not the working hours” — This is a plain, literal phrase. A higher band answer would likely use a more natural, idiomatic collocation for the same idea, such as 'the hardest part isn't the hours' with the contraction and tighter phrasing typical of spoken fluency.
   • GRA“In a family business, you might get promoted because of your age in the family, not because of how well you work.” — This sentence contrasts two reasons using the repeated structure 'because of', which is accurate but slightly repetitive. A 7.5 answer would likely vary the vocabulary and structure on each side of the contrast, using different nouns like 'birth order and personality' versus 'performance'.

   Band 7.0

   The opener 'Honestly, I'd say' and closing tag 'either' give this answer natural spoken rhythm, while the sentence linking birth order, personality and disagreements with 'and' shows more range than a 6.5 answer's separated points.

   Honestly, I'd say it's that you never really get to clock off from being a relative. A schoolfriend of mine works in her father's pharmacy in Hue, and she says the hardest part isn't the hours — it's that her dad still treats her like the fifteen-year-old who broke the cash register, no matter how competent she's actually become. In a family business, promotion tends to depend on birth order and personality rather than performance, and disagreements at work have a habit of following you home to dinner. There's often no clear moment when the older generation actually lets go, either. Some people also just want their own identity, separate from the family name, which seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to want.

   Why this band

   • FC“There's often no clear moment when the older generation actually lets go, either.” — The trailing 'either' ties this new point back to the string of difficulties just listed, showing an awareness of cumulative argument-building typical of band 7 coherence. A 6.5 answer would more likely introduce this point with a fresh 'Also' instead of this more natural linking tag.
   • LR“promotion tends to depend on birth order and personality rather than performance” — 'Rather than' is a moderately more sophisticated contrastive structure than the repeated 'because of... not because of' a 6.5 answer uses, and 'birth order' is a more precise, specific term than 'age in the family'. This shows developing lexical precision.
   • GRA“In a family business, promotion tends to depend on birth order and personality rather than performance, and disagreements at work have a habit of following you home to dinner.” — This sentence links two separate difficulties with 'and' inside one flowing structure, rather than presenting them as two short separate sentences as a 6.5 answer would. It is not yet as compact as a 7.5 answer's use of varied vocabulary and rhetorical closing tags for the same content.

   Band 7.5

   The idiomatic closing tag 'and who could blame them' and the vivid verb 'trailing' give this answer a natural, evaluative finish typical of band 7.5, alongside the concessive structure 'however competent she's since become'.

   Because you never get to clock off from being a relative, essentially. A schoolfriend of mine works in her father's pharmacy in Hue, and the hardest part, she says, isn't the hours — it's that her dad still sees her as the fifteen-year-old who broke the cash register, however competent she's since become. Promotion in a family business tends to ride on birth order and personality rather than performance, and disagreements at work have a way of trailing you home to dinner. There's rarely a clean moment when the older generation actually steps back, either. Some people, quite reasonably, just want an identity separate from the family name — and who could blame them.

   Why this band

   • FC“and who could blame them” — This short rhetorical closing tag invites agreement from the listener, adding a natural, conversational final flourish that goes beyond simply stating an opinion. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely end the same point flatly with something like 'that is a fair thing to want'.
   • LR“have a way of trailing you home to dinner” — 'Trailing' used here to describe disagreements following someone is a more vivid, slightly literary word choice than the plainer 'follow' a lower band would default to, echoing an image of something persistently tagging along. It adds precision and a touch of personality to the sentence.
   • GRA“however competent she's since become” — This concessive clause is compressed using 'however' plus an adjective rather than a fuller structure like 'no matter how competent she has become', dropping words while keeping the meaning clear. This kind of economical concessive phrasing is characteristic of the flexible grammar expected at 7.5.

6. 6. What are the advantages of working in a family business?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Short, separate sentences connected with 'also' and 'so' present each advantage one at a time, using plain vocabulary such as 'check the money carefully' and 'feels meaningful'.

   I think the biggest advantage is loyalty that you cannot buy with money. A few years ago, tourism stopped for a couple of months, and my uncle's restaurant survived because his wife and two nephews worked without pay until customers came back. A normal employee would probably not do that. There is also more trust, so nobody needs to check the money carefully. Decisions can be made quickly around the kitchen table, instead of through many managers. The business also feels meaningful, because you are building something that will last after you. Younger family members also learn the business as they work. The only problem is that all of this only works if the family gets along well.

   Why this band

   • FC“There is also more trust, so nobody needs to check the money carefully.” — This point is added with the bare 'also' and linked to its consequence with the plain connector 'so'. A band 7 answer would more likely open with a phrase like 'There's also trust involved, so...' but fold the reasoning more tightly into one continuous idea rather than two separate short clauses.
   • LR“so nobody needs to check the money carefully” — This is plain, literal vocabulary describing the idea of financial trust. A higher band answer would likely use a more specific, idiomatic phrase for the same concept, such as 'nobody needs to count the till'.
   • GRA“The business also feels meaningful, because you are building something that will last after you.” — This sentence uses a simple 'because' clause to explain the meaning point. A 7.5 answer would likely replace 'will last after you' with a more precise verb like 'outlast', and link the idea with 'since' inside a longer, more flowing sentence about several combined advantages.

   Band 7.0

   The reflective opener 'The main one, I'd say' and closing aside 'to be honest' give this answer natural spoken framing, while the sentence linking kitchen-table decisions and meaning with 'and... since...' shows more grammatical range than a 6.5 answer's shorter sentences.

   The main one, I'd say, is loyalty that money simply can't buy. When tourism collapsed for a couple of months a few years back, my uncle's restaurant survived because his wife and two nephews just worked without pay until customers came back — no ordinary employee would do that. There's also trust involved, so nobody really needs to count the till. Decisions get made quickly around a kitchen table rather than through three levels of management, and the business carries a certain sense of meaning, since you're building something that will outlast you. For younger members there's an apprenticeship built in too. The flip side, to be honest, is that all of this depends on the family actually getting along.

   Why this band

   • FC“The flip side, to be honest, is that all of this depends on the family actually getting along.” — The aside 'to be honest' softens this concluding, slightly critical observation, a natural spoken habit for closing an argument on a balanced note. A 6.5 answer would more likely state this final point flatly as 'The only problem is that all of this only works if the family gets along well'.
   • LR“no ordinary employee would do that” — This phrase is direct but slightly more idiomatic than a 6.5 answer's flatter equivalent, using 'ordinary employee' as a natural contrastive category. It sits between the very plain vocabulary of 6.5 and a more vivid word choice a 7.5 answer might reach for.
   • GRA“Decisions get made quickly around a kitchen table rather than through three levels of management, and the business carries a certain sense of meaning, since you're building something that will outlast you.” — This long sentence links two separate advantages using 'rather than' and 'and... since...', combining ideas that a 6.5 answer keeps in shorter, separate sentences. It shows developing complexity, though it stops short of the further compression a 7.5 answer achieves by cutting the transition words further.

   Band 7.5

   The colon-introduced explanation 'There's trust built in too: nobody needs to count the till' and the closing phrase 'comes free with the job' give this answer compact, idiomatic phrasing typical of band 7.5, alongside the vivid verb 'trickled back'.

   The main one is loyalty that money simply can't buy. When tourism collapsed for a couple of months a few years back, my uncle's restaurant pulled through because his wife and two nephews worked without pay until customers trickled back — no ordinary employee would ever do that. There's trust built in too: nobody needs to count the till. Decisions get made around a kitchen table rather than filtered through three layers of management, and the whole enterprise carries a sense of meaning, since you're building something meant to outlast you. For younger members, an apprenticeship comes free with the job. The flip side, of course, is that every one of these depends on the family actually getting along.

   Why this band

   • FC“The flip side, of course, is that every one of these depends on the family actually getting along.” — The aside 'of course' presents the qualifying downside as an expected, almost self-evident observation rather than a surprising addition, showing confident control over how the argument is framed. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely mark this same point with a plainer or more hesitant tag.
   • LR“customers trickled back” — 'Trickled back' is a genuinely less common, vivid verb choice for describing a slow return of customers, more precise and image-rich than the plainer 'came back' a lower band would use. It suggests a gradual process rather than a sudden one.
   • GRA“There's trust built in too: nobody needs to count the till.” — The colon links a general claim to its specific illustration within a single sentence, avoiding a separate connecting word like 'so' or 'because'. This kind of punctuation-based compression, rather than an explicit conjunction, is characteristic of the flexible grammar expected at 7.5.

7. 7. What possible changes might there be to the way people have to work in the future?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Plain, separate sentences joined with 'and' and 'because' state each change in turn, using simple vocabulary such as 'simple work' and 'very good now', without spoken hedging.

   I think the two biggest changes will be about location and what counts as a real job. My studio now only goes to the office two days a week, and I do not think that will change back, because the tools for working from different places are very good now. Another change is that AI is now doing a lot of the simple work that young workers used to do, like first drafts and basic layouts. In my own work, I now spend more time deciding what to make and less time actually making it. This probably means fewer jobs for beginners, which worries me for young people in the future. People will also probably need to have several careers, not just one.

   Why this band

   • FC“This probably means fewer jobs for beginners, which worries me for young people in the future.” — The consequence is stated directly with the plain phrase 'This probably means', giving a straightforward cause-and-effect link. A band 7 answer would more likely introduce a similar conclusion with a more natural spoken frame like 'That probably means... which honestly worries me', adding a reflective tag.
   • LR“AI is now doing a lot of the simple work” — 'Simple work' is a general, plain description. A higher band answer would likely name the specific tasks more precisely, such as 'first drafts, routine layouts', to show more concrete, developed vocabulary.
   • GRA“My studio now only goes to the office two days a week, and I do not think that will change back, because the tools for working from different places are very good now.” — This sentence chains three clauses together with 'and' and 'because' in sequence, which is accurate but linear. A 7.5 answer would likely break the reasoning off with a dash instead of 'because', creating a punchier, more flexible structure.

   Band 7.0

   The aside 'honestly I can't see that reversing' and closing tag 'which honestly worries me' add natural spoken reflection beyond a 6.5 answer's flatter statements, while the dash-set example shows a more flexible way of listing detail.

   I think the two biggest changes are around location and what actually counts as a job. My studio has already moved to two office days a week, and honestly I can't see that reversing, since the tools for working apart are just too good now. The other big shift is that a lot of what junior people currently do — first drafts, routine layouts — is being handed over to AI. In my own work, I now spend more time deciding what to build and less time actually drawing it. That probably means fewer entry-level jobs and more pressure to arrive experienced from day one, which honestly worries me for the next generation. People will also likely end up with several careers rather than one, whether they want that or not.

   Why this band

   • FC“and honestly I can't see that reversing” — The aside 'honestly' signals a personal, confident judgement folded directly into the sentence, which is a natural spoken habit associated with band 7 fluency. A 6.5 answer would more likely state this as a separate, plainer sentence: 'I do not think that will change back'.
   • LR“arrive experienced from day one” — 'Arrive experienced' is a moderately compact, slightly idiomatic phrase compared to a more literal alternative like 'already have experience'. It shows developing precision in expressing an abstract workplace expectation.
   • GRA“The other big shift is that a lot of what junior people currently do — first drafts, routine layouts — is being handed over to AI.” — The dash-set list inserts concrete examples directly inside the sentence without a separate connecting word like 'such as' or 'like'. This is more flexible than a 6.5 answer's use of 'like' to introduce examples, though it stops short of fully varying the surrounding sentence structure the way a 7.5 answer would.

   Band 7.5

   The rhetorical phrase 'what even counts as a job any more' and the closing balanced clause 'whether they choose to or not' give this answer a polished, evaluative edge, while the dash after 'reversing' replaces a full explanatory clause with a punchier break typical of band 7.5.

   The two biggest, I'd say, are location and what even counts as a job any more. My studio has already settled into two office days a week, and I can't see that reversing — the tools for working apart are simply too good now. The other shift is that a lot of what junior people currently handle, first drafts, routine layouts, is quietly being handed over to AI. In my own work, I now spend far more time deciding what to build and correspondingly less drawing it myself. That probably spells fewer entry-level jobs and mounting pressure to arrive experienced from day one, which genuinely worries me on behalf of the next generation. People will likely end up cycling through several careers rather than settling into one, whether they choose to or not.

   Why this band

   • FC“which genuinely worries me on behalf of the next generation” — This closing clause extends a personal reaction with the more considered phrase 'on behalf of', framing the worry as concern for others rather than simple personal anxiety. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely state a flatter version of the same worry without this extra layer of framing.
   • LR“quietly being handed over to AI” — The adverb 'quietly' modifying 'handed over' adds a subtle, almost ominous nuance to an otherwise neutral statement about automation, a more evaluative word choice than a lower band's plain phrasing. It shows a genuinely more expressive use of vocabulary.
   • GRA“People will likely end up cycling through several careers rather than settling into one, whether they choose to or not.” — The trailing clause 'whether they choose to or not' is attached without a new sentence, adding a compact concessive twist to the main claim. This kind of economical, tacked-on qualification is characteristic of the flexible grammar expected at 7.5.

8. 8. Is working in a large company too impersonal?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   This answer builds its argument through short, separate sentences joined with 'but' and 'so', giving a direct claim, a personal example, and a simple concluding contrast in plain, everyday vocabulary.

   It can be, but I do not think it always has to be. I have a friend who works at a big bank in Ho Chi Minh City, and she says she only really knows the eight people on her floor. But she says that small group feels warm and friendly, so the other five thousand employees do not really matter to her daily life. I think what makes a company impersonal is not its size, it is the process. When every request needs a ticket and every decision needs a committee, people start to feel less like people. Some big companies handle this well, and some small companies handle it badly. So I think size makes it easier to be impersonal, but it is not always true.

   Why this band

   • FC“So I think size makes it easier to be impersonal, but it is not always true.” — The conclusion is introduced with the plain connector 'So' at the start of a new, final sentence. A band 7 answer would more likely fold this same conclusion into the flow using a phrase like 'So I'd say scale makes impersonality easy, not inevitable', giving a tighter, more considered close.
   • LR“she says that small group feels warm and friendly” — 'Warm and friendly' is common, everyday descriptive vocabulary. A higher band answer would likely use a more compact, idiomatic phrase for the same idea, such as 'a perfectly warm little world'.
   • GRA“When every request needs a ticket and every decision needs a committee, people start to feel less like people.” — This is a single, clearly structured conditional sentence with a parallel 'every... needs...' pattern, which is accurate and functional. A band 7.5 answer would likely replace the repeated 'needs' with two different verbs, such as 'goes through a ticket' and 'through a committee', for less repetitive, more natural phrasing.

   Band 7.0

   The tag 'honestly' and the closing 'So I'd say' give this answer natural spoken reflection beyond a 6.5 response's flatter statements, and the colon before the ticket/committee example shows a more flexible way of introducing an explanation.

   It can be, but I don't think it has to be, honestly. A friend of mine who works at one of the big banks in Ho Chi Minh City says she only really knows the eight people on her floor, and that's actually a perfectly warm little world of its own — the other five thousand employees might as well be a different company. What makes a large company impersonal, I'd say, isn't size at all, it's process: when every request goes through a ticket and every decision through a committee, people stop feeling like people. Some large firms manage that well, and some small ones manage it badly. So I'd say scale makes impersonality easy, not inevitable.

   Why this band

   • FC“It can be, but I don't think it has to be, honestly.” — The trailing 'honestly' softens and personalises the opening claim, a natural spoken habit that goes beyond the flatter, unhedged version a 6.5 answer gives. It signals the speaker's own conviction rather than simply stating a fact.
   • LR“that's actually a perfectly warm little world of its own” — 'A perfectly warm little world of its own' is a moderately more vivid, idiomatic image than the plainer 'feels warm and friendly' a 6.5 answer uses, describing the small group with more personality and precision.
   • GRA“What makes a large company impersonal, I'd say, isn't size at all, it's process: when every request goes through a ticket and every decision through a committee, people stop feeling like people.” — This long sentence uses a colon to introduce the explanation directly, and drops the repeated verb in the second half rather than repeating 'goes through'. This shows more grammatical range than a 6.5 answer's fully repeated pattern, though it isn't as consistently varied as a 7.5 response.

   Band 7.5

   The dropped verb in 'every decision through a committee' and the closing phrase 'in other words' show the compressed, connective grammar typical of band 7.5, alongside the vivid contrastive verbs 'manage that gracefully' and 'fumble it badly'.

   It can be, though I don't think it has to be. A friend of mine at one of the big banks in Ho Chi Minh City says she only really knows the eight people on her floor, and that's a perfectly warm little world in itself — the other five thousand employees might as well work for a different company entirely. What makes a large company impersonal, I'd argue, isn't size at all, it's process: when every request goes through a ticket and every decision through a committee, people stop feeling like people. Some large firms manage that gracefully, and plenty of small ones fumble it badly. Scale, in other words, makes impersonality easy, not inevitable.

   Why this band

   • FC“Scale, in other words, makes impersonality easy, not inevitable.” — The phrase 'in other words' signals a confident, compact restatement of the whole argument's conclusion, tying the answer together economically. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely reach the same final idea through a plainer connector like 'So' rather than this more sophisticated summarising tag.
   • LR“plenty of small ones fumble it badly” — 'Fumble' is a genuinely less common, vivid verb choice for mishandling something, far more precise and image-rich than the plain 'handle it badly' a lower band would use. It pairs naturally with the contrasting 'manage that gracefully' just before it.
   • GRA“Some large firms manage that gracefully, and plenty of small ones fumble it badly.” — This sentence pairs two different, precisely chosen verbs across a parallel structure, rather than repeating the same verb 'handle' as a 6.5 or 7.0 answer does. This kind of varied, non-repetitive parallelism is characteristic of the lexical and grammatical range expected at 7.5.

9. 9. Will there be no place for small businesses in the future?

   May–Aug 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   Plain, separate sentences with 'but' and 'so' present a direct opinion, one concrete example (the coffee stall), and a simple prediction, using everyday vocabulary throughout.

   I do not think small businesses will disappear, but maybe they will be different in the future. There is a small coffee stall outside my office that has survived longer than two chain coffee shops on the same street, because the owner remembers every regular customer's order, and the big chains could not compete with that. Big companies are usually better at price and convenience, but small businesses are better at character, speed, and personal relationships, and people still want those things. What will probably change is that small businesses will need big platforms like Shopee, Grab, and Zalo to find customers. So they will feel independent, but actually depend on these platforms. I think there will be fewer small businesses, but not zero.

   Why this band

   • FC“So they will feel independent, but actually depend on these platforms.” — This conclusion is introduced with the plain connector 'So' as a fresh, separate sentence, stating the idea directly. A band 7 answer would more likely fold the same idea into the previous sentence using 'so they'll end up...', linking cause and consequence more smoothly.
   • LR“the owner remembers every regular customer's order” — This is direct, simple vocabulary. A higher band answer would likely choose a slightly more natural phrasing, such as 'the owner knows every regular's order', which reads more like natural spoken English than the fuller, more formal version.
   • GRA“Big companies are usually better at price and convenience, but small businesses are better at character, speed, and personal relationships, and people still want those things.” — This sentence repeats the structure 'X are better at Y' on both sides of the contrast, which is accurate but somewhat repetitive. A 7.5 answer would likely drop the repeated verb on the second side, using a semicolon instead of 'but' for a tighter, more economical contrast.

   Band 7.0

   The opener 'I'm fairly sure' and closing 'I doubt there'll ever be none' frame this answer with natural spoken reflection, and the dash-set list of platform names shows a more flexible way of adding detail than a 6.5 answer's plainer listing.

   I'm fairly sure there'll always be a place for them, though perhaps a different one from now. Outside my office there's a tiny coffee stall that has outlived two chain coffee shops on the same block, simply because the owner knows every regular's order and the chains couldn't compete on that. Big companies tend to win on price and convenience, whereas small ones win on character, speed and relationships, and people keep wanting those things regardless. What will probably change is that small businesses increasingly need the big platforms — Shopee, Grab, Zalo — just to reach customers, so they'll end up independent in spirit but dependent in practice. Fewer of them, maybe, but I doubt there'll ever be none.

   Why this band

   • FC“though perhaps a different one from now” — This trailing qualifying phrase softens the confident opening claim with a note of nuance, a natural spoken habit of hedging a strong statement. A 6.5 answer would more likely state the same idea as a separate, flatter sentence: 'but maybe they will be different in the future'.
   • LR“the chains couldn't compete on that” — 'Compete on that' is a natural, moderately idiomatic collocation, slightly more compact than a 6.5 answer's fuller phrasing 'could not compete with that'. It shows developing fluency in using prepositions naturally with abstract nouns.
   • GRA“Big companies tend to win on price and convenience, whereas small ones win on character, speed and relationships, and people keep wanting those things regardless.” — This sentence uses 'whereas' instead of 'but' for the main contrast and drops the repeated word 'businesses' on the second side, showing more grammatical variety than a 6.5 answer's fully repeated pattern. It is not yet as tightly compressed as a 7.5 answer's semicolon-based version of the same contrast.

   Band 7.5

   The semicolon in 'Big companies tend to win on price and convenience; small ones win on character, speed and relationships' drops the connector entirely for a tighter contrast, and the closing three-word sentence shows the compact, evaluative punch typical of band 7.5.

   I'm fairly confident there'll always be a place for them, though quite possibly a different one from the one they occupy now. Outside my office sits a tiny coffee stall that has quietly outlived two chain coffee shops on the same block, purely because the owner remembers every regular's order and the chains never could compete on that. Big companies tend to win on price and convenience; small ones win on character, speed and relationships, and people show no sign of losing their appetite for those. What's likely to change is that small businesses will increasingly rely on the big platforms — Shopee, Grab, Zalo — just to be found at all, so they'll end up independent in spirit but dependent in practice. Fewer, perhaps, but never none.

   Why this band

   • FC“Fewer, perhaps, but never none.” — This extremely short closing sentence delivers the whole answer's final judgement in a compact, almost aphoristic form, rounding off the argument with confident economy. A 6.5 or 7.0 answer would more likely spell out the same idea in a fuller sentence, such as 'I think there will be fewer small businesses, but not zero'.
   • LR“people show no sign of losing their appetite for those” — 'Appetite' used figuratively to describe ongoing demand is a genuinely less common, vivid word choice than the plainer 'still want those things' a lower band would use. It adds a slightly idiomatic, image-rich texture to the sentence.
   • GRA“Big companies tend to win on price and convenience; small ones win on character, speed and relationships” — The semicolon joins the two contrasting halves without any connecting word at all, relying on parallel structure alone to signal the contrast. This kind of connector-free, punctuation-based compression is characteristic of the flexible grammar expected at 7.5.