Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12
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 5.5)
Family members work together in their own business. I think in our country it is true, but in another countries i have no ideas about that. I think family business have more advantages.
Firstly, you can save your money that because yo dont have to pay another person to take their responsibilites in our business. There are several benefits working in a family business. Family members usually trust each other, so they can work together easily. Second, family members often have a strong commitment to the business because they want it to be successful for future generation. For example, many small restaurants and shops are successfully managed by parents and their children.
However, family business can also have some disadvanges. one major problem is that personal relationships can affect business desisions. Family members may argue about money, responsibilities, or important decisions. In addition, some family members may receive jobs because of their relationship ather than their skills.
In conclusion, family businesses have both advantages and disadvantages. Although disagreements and unfair decisions can sometimes hapen, I believe that trust, cooperation, and strong commitment make family businesses more beneficial overall.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student addresses the prompt by considering whether family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages, taking a clear position in favour of advantages. Relevant ideas are presented, such as cost-saving, trust, commitment, and potential conflicts like personal relationships affecting decisions. However, the response falls significantly short of the word count requirement, containing only 188 words compared to the minimum of 250 words. This under-length severely limits the extent to which ideas can be fully developed and extended, which caps the Task Achievement score at Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is divided into four paragraphs, demonstrating a basic structural framework with an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Transitional markers such as 'Firstly', 'Second', 'However', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the text, although some cohesive devices are repetitive or simplistic. Paragraphing is handled adequately, separating advantages and disadvantages. However, referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall logical progression is constrained by the brevity of the response. The coherence meets the requirements for Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, with terms like 'commitment', 'responsibilities', 'personal relationships', and 'disagreements'. There are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'desisions' instead of 'decisions', 'hapen' instead of 'happen', 'ather' instead of 'rather', and 'yo dont' instead of 'you do not'. The vocabulary is mostly functional and sufficient to communicate basic ideas, but the presence of noticeable spelling errors and limited control over less common lexical items places this criterion at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Although disagreements and unfair decisions can sometimes hapen, I believe that trust...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the response, including lowercase 'i', missing apostrophes in contractions like 'dont', and agreement issues ('family business have' instead of 'businesses have'). Despite these errors, the meaning is rarely impeded, and basic structures are controlled well enough to achieve a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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