Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-07

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)

Maintaining family businesses are a tradition among many ancient families. People long ago were mostly traders and many have still keep on their businesses while others have re-style them. According to me, there are more advantages than disadvantages of owing his own business.

Family business is a heritage that many families pass on to their descendants. Some of the new generation prefer to fly on their own wings rather than being tied-up to family affairs while others re-modernise it according to today's new technology and life style.

One of the advantage of a family business is the cooperation between members of the same family working together. It reinforces the bond between them as long ago. This closeness maintain the good relation and mutual understanding that are fading nowadays in this new generation. A well developed family business create employment among the family members and a secure income to them. Most importantly, family businesses create awareness among the young ones how their grand-parents have strived in life.

However, unfortunately not all members maintain this tradition. After the demise of old ones, some prefer to sell or split their businesses to avoid conflict among several family members. This situation is happening mainly with the new generation. There is very few who still keep this family ties alive.

In my opinion, all depends on each and every person's actual situation. With different educational background, some prefer to do a work as per their own satisfaction rather than to do what has been going-on since generations. Going on this trend, we could see many manual jobs disappeared as youngsters of this era don't like to dirty their hands with traditional work.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view in the opening, saying there are “more advantages than disadvantages,” and you identify relevant benefits such as cooperation, family bonds, income and passing knowledge between generations. You also acknowledge drawbacks, including conflict, selling or splitting a business, and younger people choosing different careers. However, the discussion does not fully answer the comparison: the disadvantages are briefly described, while the advantages receive only general explanation. The final paragraph shifts towards disappearing manual jobs without clearly showing how this supports your judgement about whether family businesses have more advantages. Develop each main point with a specific example and explain why the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has recognisable paragraphs and a broadly sensible order: introduction, background, advantages, disadvantages and a concluding viewpoint. Basic linking expressions such as “However” and “In my opinion” help signal changes in direction. Nevertheless, progression within and between paragraphs is sometimes unclear. The second paragraph discusses inheritance and modernisation but does not clearly connect these points to the central comparison. The final paragraph introduces education and manual work without a clear link to the preceding discussion, and the conclusion does not firmly summarise the argument. Some connections, such as “This closeness” and “This situation,” are understandable but refer to broad ideas. Use clearer topic sentences and make each paragraph develop one point in support of your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “descendants,” “mutual understanding,” “employment,” and “conflict,” and you attempt less common expressions such as “fly on their own wings.” This gives you a useful starting range for discussing family businesses. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear: “owing his own business” does not express your intended idea, while “re-style them” and “re-modernise it” are unnatural in this context. There are also spelling and word-form problems, including “grand-parents” and “life style.” Aim for precise, natural phrases such as “owning a business,” “modernise the business,” and “pass the business on to the next generation,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “while” and a conditional construction beginning “After the demise of old ones.” The main ideas are generally recoverable, but errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “Maintaining family businesses are a tradition” has a mismatch between the subject and verb; “many have still keep on” combines incompatible verb forms; and “This closeness maintain” lacks subject–verb agreement. In “A well developed family business create,” both the verb form and modifier need attention. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb, then review articles and plural forms. More accurate control of these basics will make your ideas easier to follow.

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