Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-13

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 5.0)

The line graph compares the number of jobs in the four sectors (Retail, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Agriculture) from 1960 to 2020 in the United States.

Overall, it can be seen that the number of jobs in manufacturing slightly increase but later declined. While employment in retail and healthcare increase throughout the period. Likewise, agriculture was the only sector which is consistently decrease.

In 1960 vbb

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and make an attempt at an overview, noting that manufacturing rises before falling and that agriculture declines. However, the response is only a brief start and does not adequately summarise the main features or make meaningful comparisons. The overview also misstates two trends: manufacturing does not “slightly increase” overall, and retail and healthcare do not both increase throughout, since manufacturing peaks in 1980 and retail is broadly rising but healthcare rises more sharply. No supporting figures or detailed comparisons are provided, and “In 1960 vbb” is unfinished. The response is substantially below the required 150 words. To improve, complete the report with accurate key figures, comparisons between sectors, and a clear overview of the contrasting trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence identifies the graph, followed by an overview introduced with “Overall.” This gives the short text some recognisable structure. However, the report stops before the detailed description begins, and the fragment “In 1960 vbb” leaves the final point incomplete, so there is no logical progression through the data. The linking word “Likewise” is also not appropriate for introducing agriculture as a contrasting trend. Develop separate paragraphs for the overview and the main comparisons, and use clear links such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile” to show how the sectors relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant basic vocabulary, including “number of jobs,” “sectors,” “employment,” “declined,” and “consistently,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited because the response is very short, and some phrasing is imprecise: “slightly increase” does not accurately describe the manufacturing pattern, while “consistently decrease” is an awkward form for describing a trend. The unfinished “vbb” also appears to be an accidental typing error and interrupts communication. Use more precise trend language, such as “peaked at,” “fell to,” “rose steadily,” and “declined gradually,” and support these descriptions with figures from the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a complex contrast in “While employment in retail and healthcare increase throughout the period,” and the opening sentence is a clear simple structure. However, verb forms are not consistently controlled: “the number of jobs … increase” should be “increased,” and “employment … increase” should be “increased” or “increases,” depending on the chosen tense. In “agriculture was the only sector which is consistently decrease,” the tense and verb construction are faulty; use “was the only sector to decline consistently.” The response offers little evidence of a wider range of sentence structures, and the final fragment is incomplete. Practise describing past data consistently in the past tense and check subject–verb agreement and complete sentence structure.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.