Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below gives information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

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

Number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US, 1960-2020

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line graph gives the information about no.of jobs in four sectors of econmy in the US from 1960 to 2020.

The line graph compares the no of jobs in different sectors at the start manufacturing, health care and reatil sector shows in increase no of jobs while in the end it remain stable but healthcare shows a increase and manufacturing shows a decline in no of jobs.

During the year ,1960 to 1980 the no of jobs are increased in different sector like health care , manufacturing and in retail by approximately 5,20and 10million while the agriculture shows a little decline in no of jobs .

from 1980 to 2000 the sector agriculture is remain stable, while manufacturing sector shows the decline in no of jobs.

from 2000 to 2020 there is a contrast between the two sectors healthcare shows a increase in nof jobs while manufacturing shows a decline and reaminaing sectors are stable in their previous results.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant trends, including manufacturing’s rise to a peak before declining, agriculture’s overall fall, and healthcare’s strong growth. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: retail does not remain stable at the end, but rises slightly from about 15 million jobs in 2000 to 16 million in 2020. The claim that manufacturing, healthcare and retail all increased from 1960 to 1980 also misstates the figures: healthcare rose by about 3 million, manufacturing by 5 million, and retail by 4 million. Important comparisons, especially that retail and healthcare both finish at around 16 million, are missing. Select the main overall patterns accurately, then support them with a few precise comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure, moving through 1960–1980, 1980–2000 and 2000–2020, so the reader can follow the time periods being discussed. However, the opening overview is difficult to interpret, and the paragraphing does not clearly separate an overall summary from supporting details. Linking phrases such as “while” and “from 1980 to 2000” are used, but the repeated period-by-period pattern becomes mechanical, and some connections are unclear—for example, “the remaining sectors are stable” does not accurately describe retail. Organise the response into a clear introduction, overview and detail paragraphs, and use comparisons between sectors to create a more coherent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “decline,” “increase,” “sector” and “stable,” which helps communicate the general trends. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repeated, particularly “no of jobs” and “shows a …”. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, such as “econmy,” “reatil,” “remaing” and “increse,” which reduce clarity and accuracy. Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, including “in their previous results” and “at the start manufacturing.” Build a wider set of accurate trend expressions and use standard forms such as “number of jobs,” “rose,” “fell” and “remained unchanged.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses with “while” and time phrases, but the sentence structures are limited and errors occur frequently. For example, “the sector agriculture is remain stable” has an incorrect verb construction, while “the agriculture shows a little decline” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The opening overview also contains a long, poorly controlled sentence, and punctuation is often missing or misplaced, as in “During the year ,1960 to 1980.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate past-tense reporting, subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries; then use a mix of shorter accurate sentences and controlled complex comparisons.

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