Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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 many countries family members work together in their family businesses to help each other and also to maintain their family traditions.Working in a family business keep people bound to each other and at the same time it could create many problems in domestic life.It has both advantages and disadvantages.

The great advantage of a working in a family business is that there is no boss who will shout at you if you are unable to achieve a desired task. Secondly, working in a family business makes the family connections more stronger as profit and loss is equally distributed. Working in family business makes it easy for the children to get knowledge of it during their study and make them independent before time and they are free of job struggles. For example if the children complete their study , they can get a chance to work freely in their business , rather than applying for a job and don't get an opportunity due to lack of experience. In this way family business help alot in grooming and independence of one's personality.

Now if I talk about disadvantages, then it is only in case when their is no bonding in the family members and at some point one of the member try to dominate other person by saying that he has more workload. In this situation family business may collapse at any time due to mismanagement of just one family member. But obviously the ratio of advantages is more the disadvantages ,as I am a job holder and do not own any family business I can clearly understand the perks of having a business.

So, in conclusion I would say family members must work in their family business whole-heartedly because if they are unite there is no power that can affect their businesses., and enjoy the blessings of family buisness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You answer the question by presenting advantages and disadvantages and making your position clear: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The points about children gaining business experience and family conflict causing mismanagement are relevant, and the example of children avoiding difficulties when applying for jobs helps illustrate one benefit. However, some ideas are asserted rather than fully explained. For instance, the claim that there is “no boss who will shout at you” is not necessarily true in a family business, and the point about profits and losses being equally distributed needs qualification or an example. The disadvantages are also less developed than the advantages. To strengthen the response, explain the conditions under which family businesses succeed or fail and support your overall judgement more consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, one on disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “Secondly,” “Now if I talk about disadvantages,” and “So, in conclusion” makes the direction of the discussion easy to follow. However, some linking is mechanical, and the progression within paragraphs could be smoother. The advantages paragraph moves from the absence of a boss to family connections and then children’s experience without clearly showing how these points relate. References such as “it” and “their” can also be unclear, particularly in the discussion of family members and business management. Use more precise referencing and connect each supporting example directly to the point it illustrates; this would make the cohesion less formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough vocabulary to discuss the topic, including relevant terms such as “profit and loss,” “mismanagement,” “job struggles,” and “independent.” However, the range is limited in places, and several word choices or collocations sound unnatural or imprecise. For example, “family connections more stronger” and “grooming and independence of one's personality” do not express the intended ideas naturally; “strengthen family relationships” and “personal development” would be clearer. There are also spelling and form errors, including “alot,” “buisness,” and “unite.” Aim to use a smaller number of accurate, natural phrases rather than relying on broad expressions such as “many problems” and “the perks.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a conditional structure in “if the children complete their study, they can get a chance to work,” and the main ideas remain understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles, verb forms, and sentence construction occur often enough to make some sentences awkward. Examples include “Working in a family business keep people,” “a working in a family business,” and “one of the member try to dominate.” The sentence beginning “In this situation” also has an unclear structure, while punctuation and spacing are inconsistent, especially around commas and sentence boundaries. Review subject–verb agreement, singular and plural forms, and article use, then proofread each sentence for a complete, clearly punctuated structure.

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