Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-14

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)

In several countries, individuals of a family work together to run their family business. This trend has been penetrated in different societies for many ages. Some people says it is beneficial while others reject this notion. In my opinion, the first perspective is more rational. This essay will explore my views to prove this notion.

First and foremost reason behind this opinion is that, when all members work together there are more chances to avoid frauds, because scammers are rampant in every society. Categorically, discussing every person has his own perception about the dealings and decision making in the business. So that, when many minds work together there are more chances to grow the business, because they all make efforts for the same business, and their combine efforts lead to the profits or losses. There are many famous business which started from rudimentary stages but with the passage of time and mutual cooperation of the family members they made significant progress. For example, Nishat Group, Gourmet, and Gul Ahmad. It is also good for the generations and family bonding because' Unity Is Strength'.

On the other hand, if a business comprises of different employees there are less chances to growth and development regarding the management of the business and dealing with other corporations.

To recapitulate, it has been proved that when members of a family work together there are more chances to flourish business. People should consider to adopt this trend for the sake of sustainable progress of their generations and their happiness.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses, presenting a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The ideas are generally relevant, mentioning fraud prevention and mutual cooperation with examples such as Nishat Group and Gul Ahmad. However, some arguments remain somewhat repetitive and under-developed, particularly the brief mention of employees on the other side and the reasoning regarding fraud. To reach a higher band, the development of ideas needs greater depth and more precise support. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, fitting the criteria for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response exhibits an overall logical arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilized, though the body paragraphs are somewhat dense and could be broken down further to separate distinct points. Cohesive devices are employed, such as 'First and foremost', 'For example', and 'On the other hand', but some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'So that, when many minds work together'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as using 'the first perspective' without fully clarifying the preceding dichotomy. Progression is visible, but cohesion requires more natural handling to achieve a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'rudimentary stages', 'mutual cooperation', and 'sustainable progress'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'This trend has been penetrated' instead of 'prevailed', 'Some people says' instead of 'say', and 'chances to growth' instead of 'chances for growth'. Spelling is generally accurate, but these lexical errors prevent the vocabulary from reaching the Band 7 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over multi-clause structures such as 'when all members work together there are more chances to avoid frauds'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('Some people says', 'discussing every person has his own perception'), article usage ('lead to the profits'), and prepositional choices ('chances for growth'). Punctuation is occasionally misused, as seen with the dangling quote mark in 'Unity Is Strength'. These errors occasionally cause slight friction for the reader but do not impede overall communication.

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