Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18
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 some countries, members of a family are choose to work together in their own business. From my side there are some positives and negatives of this, which I would like to share in the next paragraphs.
To start with some advantages, First of all if they are working together then they will be generating more income. For example, we are living in a joint family, my father and uncle are sharing business from last more than 25 years. And they are very understanding, If one person wants to go somewhere, other one is taking care of business. This is the main advantage. Furthermore, they started with one small shop, because they did not studied more. And while working together they are running more 3 shops in different cities. I think if we are seeing it frm positive views then there are many benefits.
Secondly, few drawbacks too which I can write in this paragraphs. Sometimes they don't have time for family. As in, if we wants to go somewhere together for a long trip, then we needs to close the shops for that days. Also, certain times because of money some misunderstandings are creating between both of them. That time I felt it is not good having business together. These are bad sides.
To conclude with, having a family business together has advantages and disadvantages but at the end it depends on person to person. If they have good understaning between each other then they run business really good.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses the prompt by discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of family businesses, presenting a clear personal position throughout. Ideas are supported with a relevant personal example regarding the writer's father and uncle, which adds authenticity to the essay. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or rely on broad generalizations, such as the concluding remark that success 'depends on person to person.' The response covers all requirements of the task adequately, matching the expectations for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Secondly, few drawbacks too which I can write in this paragraphs' is overly conversational and awkward. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow of ideas lacks sophisticated linking devices, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday ideas related to business and family dynamics. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'are choose to work', 'sharing business from last more than 25 years', and 'misunderstandings are creating'. These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a limited and occasionally inaccurate grasp of collocation and phrasing, consistent with Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The essay features a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently flawed (e.g., 'If one person wants to go somewhere, other one is taking care of business' and 'because they did not studied more'). There are frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and articles. Nevertheless, the meaning remains comprehensible throughout, which aligns closely with the Band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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