Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-30

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)

It is true that in many countries family works together to run their business. I believe family businesses have more advantages than disadvantages this essay will discuss some reasons and give examples.

The first advantage is that the family members trust each other. In a family business people do not need to worry about money problems because they know each other well. For example here in the Philippines many grocery stores are run by families. The father managing the deliveries the mother is in the cashier and their children helps them by stocking the grocery shelves. Because they trust each other and the business can run smoothly.

The second advantage is that by running a family business they can save money too. They do not need to hire someone and pay them a high salary because they help each other. They also work harder because it is their own business. For instance one of my uncle in the province owns a sari sari store. He and his wife including their 2 children work their everyday and they do not need to hire people because they help each other and they can save money to.

However there are also some disadvantages. Sometimes they are having arguments about business decisions. And sometimes this can make a problem at home too. But i think this problem can be solved if the family talks on how to solve the problem instead of arguing and respect each other

In conclusion family business have more advantages than disadvantages because they work they together and trust each other. And they can save money for their future. For this i think family businesses are good for many people

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

Your position is clear: you believe family businesses have more advantages, and you address both benefits and a drawback. The examples of Filipino grocery stores and your uncle’s sari-sari store make the discussion relevant and help support your points about trust and saving on wages. This meets the task well. To make the response more fully developed, explain the effects of these advantages in greater detail—for example, how trust can improve decision-making or how saved costs help a business grow. The disadvantage of arguments is relevant, but its impact is only briefly explained, and the proposed solution is asserted rather than supported. More balanced development and a consistently precise explanation would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, two paragraphs on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The sequence is easy to follow, and signposts such as “The first advantage,” “The second advantage,” and “However” help identify the stages of the argument. However, some connections between sentences are awkward or incomplete. For example, “Because they trust each other and the business can run smoothly” is a fragment, while “And sometimes this can make a problem at home too” begins a sentence with a connector without a clear link to the previous point. The conclusion also repeats earlier claims rather than drawing them together. Use complete sentences and clearer links between each example and its main point.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough everyday vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “trust,” “deliveries,” “stocking,” and “business decisions.” The local examples also make the response specific. However, the range is limited and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise, such as “help each other,” “save money,” and “make a problem at home.” Some word combinations are unnatural, including “the mother is in the cashier” and “work their everyday.” These choices sometimes make the reader pause, even though the intended meaning is generally understandable. Build a wider set of accurate phrases for discussing business roles, costs, and family conflict, and check that words combine naturally. This would make the argument more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and some longer structures, including explanations with “because” and examples introduced by “For example” and “For instance.” The overall meaning is usually clear, but errors occur across sentence boundaries, verb forms, agreement, and punctuation. For example, “The father managing the deliveries” is not a complete sentence, and “their children helps them” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “one of my uncle … owns,” the noun should be plural after “one of,” while “they work their everyday” also has an incorrect grammatical form. Several sentences run together, particularly in the introduction and conclusion. Practise forming complete sentences and checking agreement, verb forms, and punctuation before submitting.

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