Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Academic Practice Accelerator · 2026-10-01

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The bar chart shows the typical weekday for students in three different countries.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the changes in employment figures across four economic sectors in the United States: Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, and Agriculture from 1960 to 2020, measured in millions of jobs.

Overall, Healthcare and Retail experienced consistent upward trajectories throughout the 60-year period, with Healthcare exhibiting the most dramatic rise. Conversely, Manufacturing saw initial growth before experiencing a steady decline, while Agriculture remained the smallest employer with a slight downward drift.

In 1960, Manufacturing was by far the largest provider of jobs at 15 million, peaking at 20 million in 1980. However, this sector subsequently contracted, dropping to 17 million in 2000 and eventually falling to 13 million by 2020. In contrast, Retail started at 6 million in 1960 and climbed steadily over the decades, overtaking Manufacturing around 2015 to reach 16 million by the end of the timeframe.

Healthcare began as the smallest sector in 1960 alongside Agriculture, offering only 2 million jobs. Over the following six decades, Healthcare witnessed substantial and uninterrupted expansion, matching Manufacturing at approximately 14 million jobs in 2015 and concluding at 16 million in 2020. Conversely, Agriculture started at 6 million jobs in 1960, dipped sharply to 3 million in 1980, and then slowly diminished to finish at just under 2 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response is completely off-topic. The prompt asks the student to describe a bar chart showing the typical weekday for students in three different countries (UK, Japan, and Germany) across three activities (Sleeping, Studying, and Relaxing). However, the student has written an Academic Task 1 report about employment figures across four economic sectors in the United States from 1960 to 2020. Because the entire text describes a completely different visual and set of data, the response fails to address the prompt provided.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is well-structured and demonstrates clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is grouped logically by sector and time period, with a clear overall arrangement. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', 'In 1960', and 'In contrast' are used effectively to link ideas and paragraphs. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with a distinct introduction, overview, and body paragraphs, making the text easy to follow despite the misinterpretation of the task.

Lexical Resource: Band 8.0

The student displays a wide, fluent, and flexible range of vocabulary with skilful use of uncommon lexical items such as 'upward trajectories', 'exhibiting', 'contracted', and 'uninterrupted expansion'. Word choice and collocation are generally precise and natural (e.g., 'consistent upward trajectories', 'dramatic rise'). There are only occasional minor inaccuracies that do not impede communication, showing a high level of lexical control throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8.0

The response exhibits a wide range of complex grammatical structures used with a high degree of accuracy. The majority of sentences are error-free, featuring well-controlled subordinate clauses, participial phrases ('offering only 2 million jobs'), and accurate tense usage appropriate for past data trends. There are only very occasional, minor slips in grammar or punctuation, demonstrating excellent command over sentence forms.

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