Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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, there are number of countries where people run a family business together. I am agree with the statement that working in a family business has more pros than cons. I would like to discuss them in the upcoming paragraphs.

To begin with, setting up a family business is a good idea to grow together as a family. To set up family business would help to provide employement to the whole family. They would get a chnace to earn money together as a part of a team. For example, In India I have seen a lot of family business like a restrurant. Whole family work together as a team like someone work in the kitchen, one at the front counter, one manage all the customers and financial statements. In this way, none the family member has to beg someone else to get a job.

In addition, working in a family has a big advantage that everyone works with a passion, honesty and work hard to grow their business more and more. For example, there are many employees who only show up to work for a pay cheque. They do not want to work hard, being lazy as work and do not try to make it good business in the market because they do not care.

On the other hand, I feel like working in a family business can cause family disputes. It can be realted to money or can be depends on the work duties. Some people feel that they work so hard in the business they do not get recoganise in the society.

In conclusion, I would like to say that working in a family business has more advantages than disadvantages like chances to grow their business and more employement within the family.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

Your position is clear from the introduction: you believe family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages, and the conclusion restates this view. You address both sides by explaining employment and shared commitment as benefits, then mentioning disputes over money or duties as a drawback. These points are relevant, but they are not developed equally. The restaurant example gives useful detail about different family members’ roles, while the claim that relatives work with greater honesty and effort is supported mainly by a broad comparison with other employees. The disadvantage is also brief and its effect on the business is not explained. To strengthen the response, develop this drawback and connect each example more explicitly to why the advantages outweigh it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs presenting advantages, a paragraph acknowledging a disadvantage, and a conclusion. Paragraphs are focused, and signposts such as “To begin with,” “In addition,” and “On the other hand” make the direction of the argument easy to follow. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some of the flexibility associated with stronger cohesion. However, links between individual claims are sometimes mechanical, and the second advantage paragraph moves from family commitment to a general criticism of employees without fully explaining the connection. Some references, such as “them” in the introduction, are not very precise. Use clearer links between claim, example, and consequence, and vary transitions naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “family business,” “financial statements,” “family disputes,” and “work duties.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling, word-form, and collocation errors make the writing less natural. Examples include “employement,” “chnace,” “restrurant,” “recoganise,” and “show up to work for a pay cheque.” Phrases such as “grow their business more and more” and “make it good business in the market” are also imprecise. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall argument, but they reduce clarity and control. Build a more accurate set of expressions for employment, business growth, and workplace motivation, and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly with articles, agreement, and verb forms. For example, “there are number of countries” needs an article, “I am agree” uses an incorrect verb pattern, and “Whole family work together” has an agreement and article problem. In “one manage all the customers,” the verb form does not match the subject, while “can be depends” combines incompatible verb structures. These errors sometimes make the reader pause, especially in the restaurant example. Practise accurate basic sentence patterns first, then use complex clauses with reliable subject–verb agreement and verb forms.

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