Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-18

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 5.0)

The growing popularity of family members working together in their family business has raised questions about whether this trend is ultimately beneficial or detrimental. I believe that family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages.

In family businesses, the main disadvantage is that you may lack the skills and ability to do other work. For instance, if someone has a family business, they feel relaxed because they do not need to worry about their future; also, they only have grip on their own family skills and how to run their own business. In addition, many youngsters cannot do challenging work.

The advantage of family businesses is that many young people have their own business line. For example, if you are a student and your father has a family business, you have a lot of skills and the ability to run several types of business in one time. In many countries, people prefer family businesses to jobs. Many of us think a family business is a more valuable and respectful way to do work. In my own family, we like to work together and want to promote family business through new technology and online systems. Many families argue that working together and promote own business is very profitable and saves them from big losses in the future.

In conclusion, in many countries, family members work together in their family business. beacuse the believe it is more skillful, respectable, and beneficial for their generation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You state a clear overall view in the introduction—that family businesses have more advantages—and return to this position in the conclusion. You also include relevant points about gaining business skills, working with relatives, and using technology. However, the discussion is only partially developed: the disadvantage about lacking skills for other work is not clearly explained, and the advantages are asserted rather than supported with specific outcomes or examples. The conclusion mostly repeats the topic instead of weighing the two sides. The response is also below the required 250 words: it contains 230 words, with 11 words copied from the prompt excluded from the count. Develop each main point with a clear explanation and a concrete example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate paragraphs for disadvantages and advantages, and a conclusion. Basic signposting such as “For instance,” “In addition,” and “In conclusion” helps readers follow the broad direction. However, progression within paragraphs is uneven: the disadvantage paragraph moves from feeling relaxed to having limited skills and then to young people avoiding challenging work without showing how these points connect. The advantages paragraph also combines several claims, including respectability, family cooperation, technology, and avoiding losses. Some links are mechanical or unclear, and the conclusion repeats the prompt rather than synthesising the argument. Group related ideas and use explicit cause-and-effect links to make the reasoning easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the general argument, including “family business,” “skills,” “challenging work,” and “online systems.” There are also attempts at more specific expressions, such as “promote family business” and “profitable.” However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, which can make the reader pause. For example, “have grip on their own family skills” does not express the intended idea naturally, and “in one time” is an awkward phrase. Spelling errors such as “beacuse” and “believe” (where “believe” appears to be intended as “they believe”) also affect accuracy. Build a wider set of precise business-related expressions and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a conditional example beginning “if someone has a family business” and a sentence using “because.” This shows some effort to vary sentence forms. However, the range remains limited, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. In “Many families argue that working together and promote own business is very profitable,” the verb forms do not match, and the sentence needs a clearer subject and possessive determiner. The final sentence also has problems with sentence construction and agreement: “beacuse the believe it is…” is not a complete, accurate clause. Review subject–verb agreement, parallel verb forms, articles and sentence boundaries, then proofread each sentence for a complete grammatical structure.

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