Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line chart compares information of the economy in the US for the job opportunities in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare sectors between 1960 and 2020.

Manufacturing is at the peak first than other sectors, and decreased later. Job opportunities in retail sector showed constant increase, and in 2020 it was in peak. Jobs in healthcare have also increased though it had a few job opportunities in 1960.

Jobs in manufacturing sector is now decreased approximately to 13 million at the end of the year 2020. Healthcare sector had a very few job opportunities of 2 million than the other sectors, and now it leads all the sector in job opportunities of 16 million.

In 1960, agriculture and retail sector have almost equal job opportunities of around 6 million. Later, the agriculture sector decreased from 6 million to around 2.5 million. Contrast to agriculture sector, retail sector increased surprisingly surpassing other sector with around 16 million jobs in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main broad patterns: manufacturing rises to a high point before declining, while retail and healthcare grow and agriculture falls. The comparisons between agriculture and retail in 1960 and the figures for manufacturing and healthcare in 2020 are relevant and mostly accurate. This gives the report a clear basis and covers the key sectors. However, the overview is not fully precise: saying retail was “in peak” in 2020 overlooks that healthcare also reached about 16 million, matching retail. The account also omits important stages, especially manufacturing’s peak around 1980 and the strong growth in healthcare after 1980. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview that captures the final ranking and the main turning points, then support it with selected figures for each trend.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged in four paragraphs, and the reader can follow its broad movement from an introduction to sector trends and comparisons. Linking expressions such as “Later” and “Contrast to agriculture sector” help signal changes over time. However, the progression is somewhat repetitive: manufacturing’s decline and healthcare’s rise are mentioned in both the second and third paragraphs, while the report does not clearly group all rising sectors against the declining ones. Some references are also imprecise, as in “it was in peak,” where the referent is unclear. Organise the body around the main patterns, and use clearer links between the overview and supporting details. This would make cohesion less mechanical and the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “manufacturing,” “agriculture,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “surpassing,” so the main trends are generally understandable. There is some attempt to vary wording, for example “showed constant increase” and “leads all the sector.” However, several collocations and word choices are awkward or imprecise: “information of the economy … for the job opportunities” is not a natural description of a chart, and “in peak” does not clearly express a highest value. Repetition of “job opportunities” also reduces precision, since the graph reports numbers of jobs rather than opportunities. Use standard trend language such as “employment,” “reached a peak,” and “rose steadily,” and check that phrases sound natural in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more developed sentence forms, including the contrast in “Contrast to agriculture sector, retail sector increased…” and the relative clause “though it had a few job opportunities.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “Jobs in manufacturing sector is now decreased,” and “agriculture and retail sector have” does not match the plural subject naturally. Articles and number are also problematic in “all the sector” and “a very few job opportunities.” In addition, “is now decreased” combines tense and verb forms incorrectly. Practise describing past data consistently with past-tense verbs, and check agreement, articles, and singular/plural forms when editing.

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