Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-06

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 5.0)

Today, In many countries, family members work together in their family business. There are varied benefits of this approach but the disadvantage associated with it cannot be overlooked.

To begin with, family businesses provides a secure place for their upcoming generations as many families spend their ages to raise that particular business by which they develop it on large scale and opens a new path of opportunities. for example a famous brand which was started by their ancestors now their childrens run their business at varied locations. Moreover, businesses at large scale needs some one to rely upon so these family members invest their time and energy on their childrens or the closed ones to make them eligible to handle the workload rather than hiring new staff and provide them with training.

On the other hand,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You introduce the topic and give relevant advantages, including continuity across generations and the value of trusting relatives with business responsibilities. However, the response does not answer the question fully: it never states clearly whether advantages outweigh disadvantages, and the disadvantage is only announced, not explained. The final paragraph begins “On the other hand,” but contains no supporting point or conclusion, so the discussion and examples remain very limited. The response is also 125 words short of the 250-word minimum; 11 words copied from the task prompt were excluded from the count. To improve, state your position directly, develop at least one disadvantage, and support each main idea with a specific example and explanation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an introduction is followed by an advantages paragraph, and “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “On the other hand” signal relationships between ideas. This gives the reader some sense of direction. However, the progression is incomplete because the contrast signalled by “On the other hand” is not developed, and there is no concluding paragraph. The example beginning “for example” is not clearly separated or fully connected to the preceding claim, while the long advantages paragraph combines several points without clear internal organisation. Build a complete structure with one focused paragraph for each side, use linking phrases only when the relationship is clear, and finish by restating your view.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “generations,” “opportunities,” “invest their time and energy,” and “handle the workload.” These phrases help communicate the general idea that family businesses can provide continuity and prepare relatives for responsibility. However, the range is limited, and several expressions are awkward or imprecise, such as “spend their ages,” “develop it on large scale,” and “a secure place for their upcoming generations.” “Closed ones” is also not the natural expression for relatives in this context. Aim for more precise business vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “pass the business on to the next generation” or “train family members to take on management roles.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences using clauses such as “as many families…” and “by which…,” showing an effort to connect ideas rather than relying only on short statements. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in subject–verb agreement and sentence construction: “family businesses provides” should be “family businesses provide,” and “businesses at large scale needs” should be “businesses on a large scale need.” The sentence beginning “for example” is not properly punctuated or capitalised, and the final fragment, “On the other hand,” is incomplete. There is also a faulty construction in “invest their time and energy on their childrens.” Practise checking agreement, complete sentence boundaries, and the grammatical patterns used with verbs and prepositions.

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