Band 7 Example

Question: Is it easy to start up a company?

Idea 1

No, it's not easy
Model Answer
No, I don't think it's easy to start a company. First, you need a lot of money to get things going, and not everyone has that. There are also many legal steps, like registering the business and doing paperwork, which can be confusing. At the beginning, it's really hard to find customers, and you have to compete with other companies. Plus, if you are doing everything by yourself, it can be very stressful.
No, starting a company is definitely not easy. For one thing, you usually need a significant amount of money just to get started, and raising that capital can be a huge challenge. There’s also a lot of legal paperwork and bureaucracy involved, which can be overwhelming, especially for someone with no experience. On top of that, finding your first customers is tough, and most industries are already very competitive. Managing all these things on your own can be really stressful and demanding.
Grammar Analysis
1. Negative statement with emphasis: "definitely not easy" uses an adverb to strongly emphasize the difficulty, which is a natural way to express opinions in spoken English. 2. Present simple tense: The answer consistently uses the present simple tense (e.g., "you need," "there’s," "is tough") to talk about general truths and common experiences, which is appropriate for this type of question. 3. Complex sentences with conjunctions: The answer uses conjunctions like "and," "which," and "on top of that" to connect ideas smoothly and show relationships between challenges. 4. Gerund phrases as subjects: Phrases like "starting a company" and "managing all these things" use gerunds as the subject, which adds variety and complexity to the sentence structure.
Vocabulary
  • significant amount of money
  • raising capital
  • huge challenge
  • legal paperwork
  • bureaucracy
  • overwhelming
  • finding your first customers
  • competitive
  • stressful
  • demanding

Idea 2

It depends
Model Answer
I think it depends on the type of company you want to start. For example, starting an online business can be easier because you don’t need a physical shop or a lot of money. If you have some experience or someone to help you, it’s not as difficult. Also, in some countries, the process is much simpler than in others. If you start small and grow slowly, it can be more manageable.
It really depends on several factors. For instance, launching an online business is often much simpler than setting up a traditional brick-and-mortar store because you don’t need as much capital or physical space. If you already have some experience or a mentor to guide you, the process becomes a lot smoother. The ease of starting a company also varies from country to country, depending on local regulations. Plus, if you start small and gradually expand, it’s usually much easier to handle the challenges that come up along the way.
Grammar Analysis
1. Comparative structures: "much simpler than" and "much easier to handle" show the ability to compare different situations clearly and naturally. 2. Conditional sentences: "If you already have some experience or a mentor..." and "if you start small and gradually expand..." demonstrate the use of conditional structures to explain how different factors affect the process. 3. Passive voice: "the process becomes a lot smoother" uses the passive structure to focus on the process rather than the person acting. 4. Present simple tense: Used throughout to describe general truths and typical situations, which is appropriate for this kind of discussion.
Vocabulary
  • launching an online business
  • brick-and-mortar store
  • capital
  • physical space
  • mentor to guide you
  • ease of starting a company
  • varies from country to country
  • local regulations
  • start small
  • gradually expand
  • handle the challenges
Analysis →