Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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)

It is often considered that in most countries family members are working together in their family business. I believe it has more drawbacks than its benefits because most of the family members involve in the businesses due to family pressure.

From my perspective, family established businesses give individuals more opportunities and well-settled position in their own companies. This is mainly because their work run from generations to generations. As a result, they do not have to pay enough efforts and do struggles to get higher position. They directly acquire senior position, as they are the part of the family. For example, if an outsider wants to join the company, he often has to pass the interview and fulfill the company desires. Conversely, the own member obtains it without any struggle.

Another main advantage of family business is that members are tension free that their works are in the save hands. They do their best to gain profit and take their business on the next level, since they are the future pillars of their company. For instance, an employee performs their duties because he wants to prove himself as an obedient and honest worker, where as families perform well as they want to keep their company profitable and in-demand.

Despite this, I still considered it has major drawbacks. Most of the people leave their goals, since they have to enter in their inheritance business. Everyone wants to follow their dreams. They have their own wishes what they want to be. If an individual is left their career in the pressure of a family, I think having all the advantages of family business it is still a biggest disadvantage for them.

To sum up, family businesses provides well oriented future without any struggle but still people have to compromise their personal desires to run their businesses.

AI examiner evaluation

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 drawbacks outweigh benefits. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed. For instance, the discussion regarding family pressure and career compromise is introduced in the fourth paragraph but lacks specific support or deeper elaboration. Furthermore, the second paragraph attempts to explain how individuals secure positions easily, but the reasoning remains basic and repetitive rather than fully extended. While the main parts of the task are touched upon, the ideas require much greater depth and clearer supporting examples to move beyond a partially developed response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay displays some overall organization with recognizable paragraph breaks, including a brief introduction and conclusion. However, there is no clear overall progression of ideas, and transitions between paragraphs feel abrupt. Cohesive devices are used rather repetitively and sometimes inaccurately, such as the mechanical repetition of 'For example' and 'For instance'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'their work run from generations to generations' and ambiguous pronoun references in the body paragraphs that disrupt the logical flow for the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common phrasing, such as 'inheritance business' and 'well-settled position,' but these show noticeable errors in word choice and collocation. There are also recurrent lexical inaccuracies, including 'tension free,' 'save hands,' and 'well oriented future.' While communication is generally maintained despite these flaws, the restricted range and persistent errors prevent the use of more precise and sophisticated terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside attempts at complex forms that are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, tenses, and prepositions within grammatical patterns, such as 'most of the family members involve in,' 'do not have to pay enough efforts and do struggles,' and 'an individual is left their career in the pressure.' Punctuation and article usage also show recurrent inaccuracies, which cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control over grammatical structures.

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