Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-24

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)

Around the globe, It is a fact that most family owned businesses hire there own family members or work together. I believe family businesses significantly outweight the pros when compared to coins. This essay will give few reasons in the following paragraphs.

In family owned business the folks can trust each other when compared to someone who is not blood related. This trust is their hidden weapon which can lead them to achieve great heights. For Instance, a very known cafe in my hometown is owned by two brothers. This brothers they told in a interview that it is easy for one brother to trust on money when compared to someone else. Furthermore, They can keep business very crystal clear among them. In very few cases one family member might try to cheat on other but that very rare.

Their are so many business that was started by parents or grand-parents and passed down to the childern. As the family grows the company gets more man power and loyal employees. As a result, the business would spread like a wild fire. Many of the big organisation today was once started by their family decades back and still runs within the family members.

In many family business that fails the main reason is initial investment and improper documentation. If any decision are being discussed it has be documented on a paper.Th company finance should be very clear.

In summary, Starting a business with your family member can be successful as it is easy to trust on your family member, but you should be always careful about the documentation part.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing whether family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages, and it maintains a clear position that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ideas are extended and supported with relevant examples, such as the cafe owned by two brothers in the author's hometown. However, some arguments tend to over-generalise, and the development in paragraphs like the one discussing documentation is somewhat brief and under-developed. Nevertheless, the main task requirements are met with a clear viewpoint throughout, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is used, though paragraph 4 is quite short and abrupt. Cohesive devices are employed, but some referencing is faulty or mechanical, such as 'This brothers they told in a interview' and 'Their are so many business'. Logical progression is sometimes disrupted by awkward transitions and repetitive phrasing ('family owned business', 'family member'). Overall, the organisational structure is evident, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'hidden weapon' and 'initial investment'. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'outweight' instead of 'outweigh', 'coins' instead of 'cons', 'there' instead of 'their', 'childern' instead of 'children', and 'Th company' instead of 'The company'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect a Band 5 level of lexical control due to noticeable inaccuracies.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional structures ('If any decision are being discussed it has be documented'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('This brothers they told', 'business that was started... was once started', 'If any decision are'), missing auxiliary verbs ('it has be documented'), and punctuation. These errors are noticeable and cause some difficulty for the reader, matching the characteristics of Band 5.

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