Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-25

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 other countries, they prefer to have their own business and they prefer to work with their close relatives. In this essay we will discuss the advantage and disadvantage of having relative employee in a family business.

Having close relatives in a family business is somehow good. First, because you already know the background of the employee. Secondly, you are already comfortable. For instance, if you have relative who knows about accounting, you can entrust your financial account.

On the contrary, because of too much trust, it is also expose to betrayal especially in terms of money. The usual issue in family business is betrayal of money. For example, you entrust the financial account, but little did you know that your earnings and savings was spent to illegal gambling. Other relative also will take easy since they know the owner is their relatives. Some may not obey the policy and procedures. To make their job easy they will take the short cuts even disobeying the rules and regulations. For instance, my brother has a business of tables and chairs and his employee is our nephew. He sometimes disobey my brother as he thinks his attitude is acceptable. Other employee observe that and they may follow the wrong doing of my nephew as they think it is fine to disobey rules. At the end my brother remove my nephew to his job. The relationship change at first but eventually they talk to each other again.

In conclusion, knowing the advantage and disadvantage, before hiring a relative in a family business they should be open to each other that no matter what happen it is just a business nothing personal.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address the question by presenting benefits and drawbacks of employing relatives, and your example about your brother and nephew gives the discussion a relevant personal dimension. However, the task asks whether family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages, and your position on that comparison is not clear: the conclusion recommends openness but does not say which side you consider stronger. The advantages are also less developed than the disadvantages; knowing an employee’s background and feeling comfortable are mentioned, but their practical value is not explained in depth. To strengthen the response, state your view directly and support both sides with specific reasoning before reaching a clear judgement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to benefits, drawbacks, a personal example and a conclusion. Sequencing words such as “First,” “Secondly,” “On the contrary” and “For instance” help readers follow the main points. The example about the nephew also develops the discussion rather than leaving it entirely general. However, the contrast between the two sides is not fully shaped into a clear argument, and the conclusion does not resolve the comparison in the question. Some links are mechanical or unclear, such as “Other relative also will take easy,” which makes the connection to the preceding point difficult to follow. Use clearer topic sentences and refer explicitly to how each point supports your overall position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “financial account,” “policy and procedures,” “rules and regulations,” and “betrayal.” The personal example also gives you opportunities to use relevant terms such as “employee” and “owner.” However, the range is limited and several phrases are inaccurate or unnatural, including “relative employee,” “betrayal of money,” “take easy,” and “wrong doing.” These choices sometimes make the intended meaning less precise, even though the general message remains understandable. Aim for more natural collocations and a wider range of language for discussing trust, responsibility and workplace conduct. For example, describe relatives as “family members employed in the business” and explain that they may “take advantage of their relationship with the owner.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a conditional example beginning “if you have relative who knows about accounting” and a longer explanation of how other employees might copy the nephew’s behaviour. The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement and articles are noticeable. Examples include “it is also expose,” “your earnings and savings was spent,” and “At the end my brother remove my nephew to his job.” The final sentence also shifts awkwardly between past and present forms. Work on forming complete, accurate clauses and checking subject–verb agreement and tense consistency. For instance, “his earnings and savings were spent” and “my brother eventually removed my nephew from the job” would be clearer.

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