Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-23

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 it is common for relatives to work together in family businesses. Although this arangement can sometimes lead to personal conflicts, I believe that family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages, provided that family memeber maintan professioalism.

Families tend to have a sense of trust for each other which is one major benefit to the business. Since they know each other well , they may find it easier to communicate and share responsibilities. For example, family members might work together in a restaurant and share daily tasks, like serving customers which improves cooperation and help the business run more efficiently and eventually suceed.

Despite the benefits, working with family can sometimes create difficulties. personal disagreement, family issues spilling over into the business which can affect professionalism. Also business opinions about how it should be managed. For instance, two siblings who disagree over financial decisions might struggle to cooperate to work. However, these problems can be reduced by establishing clear responsibilities and treating beusiness decisions professionally.

In conclusion, although family business can experience conflcts between members, i believe the advantages outweighs there disadvantages. Trust and cooperaton can contribute to suceess of business.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

Your position is clear: you believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and you address both trust and cooperation as benefits and conflict as a drawback. The restaurant example and the siblings’ disagreement make the points relevant, but they are brief and not fully explained; for instance, you do not show specifically how trust improves business outcomes beyond making communication easier. The response also falls short of the required 250 words, so the discussion is limited and some ideas remain under-developed. To strengthen the answer, explain each main point with a fuller cause-and-effect link and a more specific example, while maintaining your clear position throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction states your view, separate paragraphs discuss benefits and drawbacks, and a conclusion restates your position. Linking expressions such as “Although,” “Despite the benefits,” “For instance,” and “In conclusion” help guide the reader. This organisation is effective, though the progression within the drawbacks paragraph is less smooth: “Also business opinions about how it should be managed” is an incomplete thought, making the connection between disagreement and the example unclear. Some links, such as “However,” introduce a sensible solution but could be connected more explicitly to the problem. Develop each paragraph in a clearer sequence—point, explanation, example, and implication—to make the cohesion more consistently controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the topic, including “personal conflicts,” “share responsibilities,” “professionalism,” and “financial decisions.” These choices communicate the main ideas, and there is some attempt to use more specific business language. However, the range is limited, and several spelling errors—such as “arangement,” “suceed,” and “cooperaton”—are noticeable. Some word combinations are also awkward, including “have a sense of trust for each other” and “business opinions about how it should be managed.” Aim to use more precise collocations and check spelling carefully. For example, “trust each other” and “disagreements about how the business should be managed” would express these ideas more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some complex forms, such as “Although this arrangement can sometimes lead to personal conflicts” and “Since they know each other well, they may find it easier to communicate.” These structures help express contrast and cause. However, control is uneven, particularly in longer sentences. “Personal disagreement, family issues spilling over into the business which can affect professionalism” is a fragment, while “which improves cooperation and help the business” has a subject–verb agreement error. There are also errors in “the advantages outweighs” and inconsistent capitalisation at the start of sentences. Practise building complete sentences around each main clause, and check agreement, articles, and punctuation when editing.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.