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)

In my own knowledge the primary advantage of working in my family business is that you don't need to follow the Boss order or the other people since its my families business, I am the Boss either. I have my own people who follow me and respect me. They will listen to me even more if I have ideas about the business. I have all my time, No need to be early and late. I can go back home anytime. I have a lot of time for my family than the work. I have my own office and I can do aanything there.

Furthermore, the disadvantage is that you don't have a holiday, If have arguments and any issue in the business, you are also need to think outside the box to find the best solution. Its exhausting because all your family sometimes don't care about it and you are the only one who have concern for the business.

The family conflict start with the busness and end up separate from each other. You need to listen to them just to make them feel heard and not invisible.

In my conclusion, family business is business you need to handle like an employee and an employer. You need to be either both to maintain the good and peaceful environment for your employee and to your own family. However what ever the problem it is family is family and business is business., no one can change that. I still believe theres more advantage than disadvantage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall opinion in the conclusion: “I still believe theres more advantage than disadvantage,” and you discuss both benefits and drawbacks. The examples of having more control over decisions and family conflict are relevant to the question. However, the response only partially develops the comparison: several benefits (“I have all my time” and “I can go back home anytime”) are asserted without explaining how realistic or important they are, while the disadvantages receive limited explanation too. The opening focuses on personal experience but does not clearly establish whether you are discussing family businesses generally. To strengthen the response, state your position directly in the introduction and develop two or three main points with specific explanations or examples showing why the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure, with separate paragraphs for advantages, disadvantages and a conclusion. “Furthermore” signals the move to drawbacks, and the final paragraph returns to your opinion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the first paragraph moves from authority to working hours, family time and office space without showing how these points connect. Some linking is mechanical or inaccurate, such as “In my conclusion,” and the relationship between family conflict and the advice to listen is not fully explained. The conclusion also introduces the employee/employer idea without developing it earlier. Organise each body paragraph around one central point, use clearer transitions between supporting details, and make references such as “they” and “it” unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic-related vocabulary to communicate basic ideas, including “family business,” “arguments,” “concern” and “peaceful environment.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unnatural, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. For example, “follow the Boss order” and “I am the Boss either” do not express the intended idea naturally; “family members don’t care about it” is also vague. There are noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “aanything,” “busness” and “theres.” Aim for more precise business vocabulary and check spelling carefully. Replacing repeated general words with terms such as “decision-making,” “responsibility” and “work-life balance” would help express your points more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use basic structures to explain advantages, disadvantages and your opinion. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the response difficult to follow. Examples include “If have arguments,” “you are also need to think,” and “all your family sometimes don't care,” where sentence structure and verb forms are faulty. Agreement and articles are also problematic in “the family conflict start” and “family business is business.” Punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent, particularly in “No need to be early and late” and the comma splice in the final sentence. Practise building accurate complete sentences first, then add subordinate clauses using forms such as “when,” “because” and “although.”

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