Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-07-31

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 7.5)

The line graph provides statistics regarding the number of employment opportunities in all economic sectors of the US economy from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, agriculture remains relatively unchanged throughout the 60 year timeframe of the graph, with it slightly decreasing then stagnating. Retail and healthcare are the sectors that have increased steadily, while manufacturing decreases overall.

Manufacturing increases from 15 million jobs to 20 million jobs in the first 20 years, then begins dramatically decreasing for the next 40 years onward. On the other hand, both retail and healthcare increase through all time intervals, with them finally meeting at roughly 16 million jobs in 2020.

The only sector to remain the lowest and the least changed is agriculture. This sector decreases from around 6 million jobs in 1960 to roughly 3 million in 1980, halving its job count in the first 20 years. It then fluctuates slightly from that point onward, maintaining a steady 2-3 million jobs throughout the next 40 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You covered all four sectors and highlighted key features, such as the growth in retail and healthcare and the decline in manufacturing. The comparison between sectors is well-handled, particularly the observation that retail and healthcare converged at 16 million jobs. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are accurate; for instance, the graph shows manufacturing peaking around 1980, which you noted, but your description of the trends could be slightly more precise regarding the specific start and end values to fully support your analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group information by sector trends. You use cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'In the first 20 years' to guide the reader through the timeline. The paragraphing is appropriate, with each section serving a distinct purpose. To improve, ensure that the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is slightly smoother, and avoid repetitive sentence structures when describing the fluctuations in the agriculture sector.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the trends, using terms like 'stagnating', 'fluctuates', and 'intervals'. The language is generally precise and appropriate for an academic report. However, there is some repetition of basic verbs like 'increase' and 'decrease'. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for change and movement, such as 'climb', 'plummet', or 'plateau', to show a more sophisticated command of lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively. Most of your sentences are clear and error-free, which ensures that the information is easy to follow. There are no major grammatical errors that impede communication. To move into the higher bands, you could experiment with more complex sentence forms, such as using participle clauses (e.g., 'Starting at 15 million, manufacturing rose to...') to improve the flow and demonstrate greater grammatical flexibility.

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