Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-08

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 today's world, with the number of businesses increasing day by day, people have commenced the ritual of bringing their family into this fast paced business world. In this essay I will discuss the benefits and drawbacks, family bring to a business and share my opinion on why I believe that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

One of the main benefits of having closed ones into the business is trust. Family members are dependable and trust worthy, they share the same blood that undertstands and knows each other really well. In businesses its crucial to have someone that undertstands you and your vison. In addition, to expand a firm, its important to have an involvement of family members. For example, local businesses that are able to scale rapidly have a strong family support. So they can handle everything efficiently and smoothly.

Eventhough it is good to have family involvement into businesses there are few drawbacks. One of them is compatibility. If the members are not compatible amongst each other, damage can be critical. In the longer run, the business will not survive the conflict of interests. Additionaly, jealousy can evolve around money.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You address both advantages and disadvantages and state a clear view: “the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.” Trust and family support are relevant advantages, while incompatibility and jealousy are relevant risks. However, the response only partially fulfils the task because the ideas are brief and under-developed. For instance, “local businesses … have a strong family support” is not supported with a specific example or explanation of how that support helps them grow. The disadvantages are even less developed: jealousy is mentioned but its effect on business decisions is not explained, and the conclusion is missing. The response also contains 192 words, below the required 250. Develop each point with explanation or an example, and finish by reinforcing your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction is followed by a paragraph on benefits and one on drawbacks. The opening also signals the essay’s direction, and transitions such as “In addition” and “For example” help connect points. However, the progression is limited because the final paragraph ends abruptly after “jealousy can evolve around money,” with no conclusion to bring the discussion together. Some linking is also mechanical, and the relationship between claims could be clearer—for example, explain how family support enables a business to “scale rapidly” rather than moving directly from the claim to the result. Use a concluding paragraph and develop clearer links between each reason and its consequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “drawbacks,” “compatibility,” “conflict of interests,” and “expand a firm.” These choices show an attempt to discuss business relationships rather than relying only on very basic terms. However, several inaccurate or unnatural expressions reduce precision, such as “closed ones,” “bringing their family into this fast paced business world,” and “jealousy can evolve around money.” There are also spelling errors, including “undertstands,” “vison,” and “Additionaly,” which make the writing less controlled. Aim for natural collocations and check spelling carefully; for example, use “relatives” or “family members” instead of “closed ones,” and specify that jealousy may arise over profits or unequal pay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple sentences and some longer structures, including the conditional sentence “If the members are not compatible amongst each other, damage can be critical.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. For example, “In businesses its crucial” needs a possessive apostrophe and a more appropriate article or plural construction, while “In addition, to expand a firm, its important” has an awkward sentence pattern and another missing apostrophe. The sentence beginning “Family members are dependable” also joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Practise accurate sentence boundaries, apostrophes, and article use, while continuing to vary sentence structures.

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