Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13

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)

People has many benefits for family business than working for someone else. I think its advantages overweigh the disadvantages. I will discuss this in following paragraphs.

Commence with, people who working in their family business. If they are studying and work together. They can more focus on their study regardless of the future outcomes such as if they failed to crack compitative exams. They can work in their family business. They can go for more vacation as much they want. They can give on time day off notice and many more things which a private job holder cannot do.

Moreover, these people usually worry free and can work on their fitness more. They always go for work with their own schedules. They don't have any stress of termination. They mostly spend the time on physical and mental health. Working with family can give you some genuine tips about the business handling and act calmly in stressed situation.

On the other hand, people who working with family can have disadvantages as well. Working with family can increase the chances of personal conflicts. Its very that to have a same point of view or idea towards anything in the business. It can leads to family separation or business separation such as a business run by two brother after separation the share of the business will be 50% each.

In conclusion, working with family business is very stress free and can do their leisure whenver they want. But, working with other employer cannot give such benefits.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses, presenting a clear position that advantages outweigh disadvantages. The ideas presented, such as reduced stress, flexibility with time off, and the potential for personal conflicts, are relevant to the topic. However, the development of these ideas is rather limited and lacks depth or specific, well-elaborated examples. For instance, the discussion on studying and working simultaneously is somewhat fragmented and hard to follow. While the writer attempts to support their position, the arguments remain generalized and require further elaboration to reach a higher band. Overall, it addresses the core requirements of the task adequately, aligning well with the expectations of Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay displays a basic structural organization with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. However, the overall progression of ideas is hindered by abrupt transitions and poor paragraphing choices, such as starting a body paragraph with 'Commence with,'. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, and referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in pronoun usage throughout the text. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal paragraph cohesion is weak, with sentences often appearing disconnected from one another. This results in a choppy reading experience that fits the description for Band 5.0, where ideas are present but lack smooth logical progression and adequate cohesive control.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, utilizing words like 'benefits', 'advantages', 'disadvantages', and 'work' frequently throughout the text. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'People has many benefits', 'worry free', and 'Its very that to have a same point of view', which occasionally cause strain for the reader. The range is minimally adequate to convey simple ideas related to the topic, but attempts at less common vocabulary are missing or misused. These lexical limitations and frequent word-choice inaccuracies place the response firmly at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences. When the writer attempts more complex forms, they are frequently faulty, leading to severe grammatical errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('People has', 'people who working'), sentence fragments, and incorrect preposition use. Punctuation is also problematic in several places. These frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader and obscure the intended meaning in multiple sentences. Because the grammatical control is weak and complex structures are unsuccessful, this performance corresponds to a Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 based on the presence of some correct simple clauses.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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