Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-07-30

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 6.5)

The given line graph illustrates the number of career opportunities in different four categories such as manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, healthcare and retail increased throughout the period, while agriculture and manufacturing rapidly declined by the end of the period.

In 1960, healthcare started from 3 million, significantly increasing and ended up around 16 million, whereas the second highest, retail, appeared at 6 million and went up steadily to approximately 16 million in 2020. Similarly, in 2020, healthcare and retail remained constant throughout the period. Furthermore, manufacturing started from 15 million and went up around 20 million in 1980, while in 2000 manufacturing declined by the end of the period and reached around 13 million.

Moreover, agriculture started from 6 million and dramatically declined and reached approximately 3 million in 2020. Likewise, healthcare and retail opportunities increased steadily by the end of the period, while the other two sectors declined rapidly throughout the period

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all four sectors and identifies the main trends. However, the data reporting is inconsistent and contains factual inaccuracies. For instance, stating that healthcare and retail 'remained constant' in 2020 contradicts the earlier observation of their growth. Additionally, the description of manufacturing is confusing, as it mentions a decline in 2000 followed by a decline 'by the end of the period,' which lacks clarity. While the overview is present, the supporting details are not always accurate or well-selected, which limits the effectiveness of the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'In 1960,' 'Similarly,' and 'Moreover.' However, the progression of ideas is occasionally hindered by repetitive phrasing and some mechanical use of linking words. The final paragraph repeats information already stated in the overview, which creates a sense of redundancy rather than progression. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when discussing the trends of the four sectors in the final summary.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, with terms like 'career opportunities,' 'dramatically declined,' and 'steadily' used to describe trends. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'career opportunities' to describe economic sectors, and 'appeared at 6 million' which is not a standard way to report graph data. The vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'started from 3 million' (should be 'started at') and 'went up around 20 million' (should be 'rose to'). The sentence 'healthcare and retail remained constant throughout the period' is grammatically correct but factually incorrect based on the graph. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency of the writing.

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