Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-02

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 irrefutable to say that business contributes both profit and lose.There are numerous countries where all the family members work together to run their family business. I firmly believe that all the family members working under one roof will consequently have both advantages and disadvantages on them while supporting the latter. This essay will enlight both the benefits and drawbacks of it in upcoming paragraphs.

On the one hand, family members contribution in running a business will result in the better management of all the departments and things like accounts, project presentations, strategic marketing skills etc. as they knew the core aim of their business and work closely to acheive it rather than explaining the needs of business to hired employees. Additonally, when all family members work together in their family business it will reduce their business cost to hire new employees. Further, family members can work selflessly overtime to meet their business project deadlines which usually an employee denies or company has to agree and pay them overtime.

On the other hand, the disadvantage of all family members working in their business can become crucial and unprofitable at certain times. To illustrate: if business suffer crisis and lose its shares it will affect their bread and butter immensely. Moreover, all family members involvement at one place can led to disagreements at certain phases of business which can raise conflicts among their family, personally as well.Thus, it causes unpeaceful and bad environment at home to live together can often leads to separation in future.

To conclude, it definetly supports business efficiently and improves work performance when all members of family work together but often diagreements and owing strong decisions results in the family separation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question and state a position, particularly in the introduction (“supporting the latter”) and conclusion, where you favour the advantages overall. The points about shared management, reduced hiring costs, and family conflict are relevant. However, the position is not fully consistent: the conclusion says family businesses improve performance but ends by emphasising separation, leaving the final judgement less clear. Several ideas are asserted rather than explained—for example, the claim that relatives work “selflessly overtime” would benefit from a specific explanation or example, and the risks of a business crisis are not compared directly with the benefits. Develop each main point and make the overall comparison explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, separate paragraphs for advantages and disadvantages, and a conclusion. Signposting such as “On the one hand,” “On the other hand,” and “To conclude” helps readers follow the argument, and the ideas generally progress within each paragraph. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking points. However, transitions can feel formulaic, and some connections are unclear. For instance, the move from business losses to “bread and butter” is abrupt, while the final sentence combines improved performance and family separation without clearly resolving the contrast. Use clearer referencing and explain how each example supports your position.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of topic-related vocabulary, including “strategic marketing,” “business crisis,” “project deadlines,” and “conflicts,” and the main meaning is usually understandable. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, such as “bread and butter” and “selflessly.” However, noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, word form, and spelling limit precision and can make some phrases difficult to interpret. Examples include “business contributes both profit and lose,” “enlight both the benefits,” and “owing strong decisions.” Spelling errors such as “acheive,” “Additonally,” and “definetly” also detract from accuracy. Choose more natural business-related expressions and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional and subordinate structures, as in “if business suffer crisis and lose its shares it will affect their bread and butter.” This shows an effort to vary sentence forms, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur frequently enough to sometimes make the reader pause. Examples include “family members contribution” and “all family members involvement,” where grammatical relationships are unclear; “which usually an employee denies,” which lacks a clear verb structure; and “can led to disagreements,” where the verb form is incorrect. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention, particularly the run-on construction near the end of the disadvantages paragraph. Practise accurate clause structure, agreement, and verb forms before adding complexity.

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