Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 current generation, family members work together in their family businesses in order to enhance the productivity. Although, this trends have both advantages and disadvantages. This essay will discuss both advantages and disadvantages of family businesses and provide relevant examples.

Family business is consider as the heritage and a crucial asset for the families. As, it is the source of income for a family, so most of people believe that businesses bind and connect them together. Because of the family businesses, an individual who is working in the respected business knows about the workflow of processes and how to operate the business. This is due to the trust level that has been shared among the family members. This is the advantage that brings decrease in cost of businesses, as every member is investing their money which leads to the growth of business. These above reasons also enhaces the productivity of business.

On contrast, the biggest disadvantages that have been seen in many cases are the personal disadgreement which creates tension among the member and affect the businesses. For example, a clash led to the closure of restaurant affects the productivity of business and creates the tension as well among the investors.

To conclude, although working with family members can sometimes lead to personal conflicts and difficulties in decision-making, I believe that the advantages are greater. Trust, shared responsibility, lower costs and the transfer of experience can make family businesses successful in the long term

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both advantages and disadvantages, and expresses a clear position at the end. However, the development of ideas remains limited and under-developed, with generalisations that lack sufficient expansion, as seen in the brief treatment of personal disagreements. Furthermore, it is important to note that the length requirement is not met, as the response contains 244 words, which falls short of the minimum 250-word limit. To reach the next level, the writer needs to extend supporting examples more fully and ensure the minimum word count is strictly satisfied.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised appropriately, separating the advantages and disadvantages into distinct sections. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'This is...' and 'These above reasons'. Referencing is not always entirely clear, and cohesive devices are occasionally basic. To progress further, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother logical transitions between sentences without relying on repetitive structural patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used provides an adequate range for the task, successfully communicating the main ideas. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'heritage', 'crucial asset', and 'workflow', but this is accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation, such as 'Family business is consider' (word form) and 'respected business' instead of 'respective business'. Spelling and word-choice errors do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the score. To improve, the writer must focus on precise word choices, correct word forms, and natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at varied structures. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('In current generation'), subject-verb agreement issues ('this trends have'), and awkward prepositions or phrasing ('tension as well among the investors'). While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they are noticeable and affect the overall control of language. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to increase the proportion of error-free sentences and demonstrate more consistent control over complex grammatical patterns.

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