Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-03

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 this modern era, a growing number of individual purse their own or relatives business. While this setup can strengthen their skills as well as help them to earn good amount of money, however can also create some conflicts in between famlies. The essay will intends to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of this trends.

To commence with, there are several advantages why people believe that working in the family business is beneficial. First and foremost, if family members are in same worklpace can help to maintain trust which cannot be built towards unknown person. For instance, some secret documention and discussion cannot be displayed in front of an individual which is just an ordinary employee, however it can disclosed in front of relatives without a risk. Additionally, when working in a family run enterprise, members do not work 9 to 5 because they are not working to make hours but to grow their company and make profit.

On the other hand, there are some disadvantage also. Firstly, kinship-based business can have conflicts as well. For example, if one family member have fight at their home with other person, that can create conflict at work. Resultantly, they will open their own seprate companies and decrease their own profits. Furthermore, holidays can be a issue when all relative are working under one roof because if there is family function, everybody will take a holiday, that will result in less revenue generation for that days.

To encapsulate, realtives workplace can help individual to earn money because of trust, however small conflicts can damage their company bulding blocks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address both sides of the question by discussing trust and commitment as benefits, then workplace conflict and shared holidays as drawbacks. The conclusion also signals a view, suggesting that the benefits of trust are important but that conflicts can damage a business. However, the task asks whether advantages outweigh disadvantages, and your overall judgement remains implicit rather than clearly stating which side is stronger. Some points are relevant but under-developed: the example about confidential documents is difficult to follow, and the holiday point would benefit from explaining how businesses could manage staffing. State your position directly in the introduction and conclusion, then extend each main idea with a clear explanation or specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a paragraph on advantages, a paragraph on disadvantages, and a conclusion. The progression from one side of the issue to the other is easy to follow, and signposts such as “First and foremost,” “On the other hand,” and “To encapsulate” help guide the reader. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in linking ideas. However, a few links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Resultantly” does not clearly connect the family dispute to opening separate companies, and “however” is awkwardly used in the introduction. Use linking expressions only where the relationship is precise, and make the cause-and-effect steps explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-relevant vocabulary, including “family run enterprise,” “kinship-based business,” “conflicts,” and “revenue generation.” These choices show an attempt to discuss the topic beyond very basic terms. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make parts of the response less clear, such as “individual purse their own or relatives business,” “secret documention,” and “company bulding blocks.” Spelling errors, including “famlies,” “worklpace,” and “seprate,” are also noticeable. Aim for accurate, natural phrases rather than more elaborate wording: for example, “family members run a business” is clearer than “individual purse their own or relatives business.” Proofread spelling and check collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including conditional and cause-and-effect structures, as in “if one family member have fight at their home… that can create conflict at work.” However, errors are frequent, and some complex sentences are faulty or difficult to process. Examples include “The essay will intends,” “if family members are in same worklpace can help,” and “if one family member have fight.” These involve verb forms, missing subjects or articles, and subject–verb agreement. There are also problems with sentence construction in “While this setup can strengthen… however can also create…”. Practise building accurate sentences with one clear main clause, then add subordinate clauses carefully. Check agreement, articles, and verb forms before submitting.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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