Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-01

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 family members work together in thier family busniess, while some thinks it have more disadvantages, I think advantages outweight disadvantages.

The family members understand the busniess better because they grew with it. Since childhood they had many opportunitis to visit the busniess, assist the heads and discuss with them about the busniess even in free time.

The family members working in thier family busniess can spend more time together throughout the day and results in more bonding.

If there are any busniess secrets those can be kept safely by family members in the family because dispite signing non disclousre agreement there are high chances of secrets being public by an ex employee.

And last but not least, Growth matters to them. In family busniess all the family members working together want busniess to grow from thier heart.

But there are also few disadvantages. There can be more conflicts because everyone wants thier ideas are heard and take actions accordingly. But its not possible at all and resulting in more conflicts.

Meanwhile accountibility is also one of the hurdle family busniesses have to face.

There is a family owned cow farm run by my friend's family. He used to talk with me about all this and all the problem his family is facing. Meanwhile the busniess is growing at 10% annually and they are satisfi

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You give a clear overall view that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and provide relevant reasons, including shared knowledge, family bonding, protecting business information, and motivation to grow. You also acknowledge conflict and accountability as drawbacks, so both sides of the question are addressed. However, several points are asserted rather than explained: for example, the claim that relatives keep secrets safer needs a clearer explanation, and the accountability point is not developed. The cow-farm example is relevant, but the response ends mid-sentence (“they are satisfi…”), leaving its significance unclear. The response is 219 words, below the 250-word minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are excluded from that count. Develop the example and explain how it supports your position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable progression: it presents advantages, introduces disadvantages with “But,” and then gives a family-business example. This helps the reader follow the broad direction of your argument. However, the ideas are mostly placed in separate short statements rather than developed in clearly organised paragraphs, and the final example is cut off, so the conclusion and overall progression are incomplete. Some linking is mechanical or unclear: “And last but not least” adds another point without showing how it relates to the previous one, while “Meanwhile” does not express the relationship between the accountability point and the farm example. Group related advantages and disadvantages into paragraphs, use links that show cause, contrast, or example, and finish with a concise conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, such as “business secrets,” “non-disclosure agreement,” “conflicts,” and “annually,” which helps communicate the subject. However, the range is limited and several words or phrases are repeated, especially “business” and “family members.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “thier,” “busniess,” “opportunitis,” “disclousre,” and “accountibility”; these can distract the reader and reduce clarity. Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “Growth matters to them” and “grow from their heart.” Aim for accurate spelling and more precise collocations, for example, describe relatives as “committed to the business’s success.” Vary repeated terms with suitable alternatives such as “the enterprise” or “relatives.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex sentence forms, including the opening contrast and the explanation beginning “Since childhood,” but control is inconsistent. Errors occur in basic sentence structure and agreement: “some thinks it have” should use plural agreement, and “everyone wants their ideas are heard” needs a different construction, such as “everyone wants their ideas to be heard.” The sentence “The family members working … can spend more time together … and results in more bonding” has an unclear subject and mismatched verb structure. You also rely heavily on simple sentences and fragments, such as “Meanwhile accountibility is also one of the hurdle…”. Practise building complete sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement, and use a wider range of controlled clauses to explain each point.

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