Band 9.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 9.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-01

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 9.0)

The line graph illustrates how employment levels (in millions) evolved across four US economic sectors — Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, and Healthcare — between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, the data reveals a structural economic shift: Manufacturing declined after peaking in 1980, while Healthcare and Retail grew steadily, with Agriculture remaining minimal and stable post-1980.

In 1960, Manufacturing employed 15 million workers — the highest of all sectors — rising to 20 million by 1980 before falling sharply to 13 million by 2020. Conversely, Healthcare started at only 2 million but surged dramatically after 1980, reaching 16 million — an eightfold increase — effectively matching Retail, which climbed consistently from 6 million to 16 million over the period. Agriculture, meanwhile, dropped from 6 million to 3 million by 1980 and then plateaued, showing no significant change thereafter.

This trend underscores a pronounced transition from industrial to service-oriented employment, accentuating the burgeoning dominance of Healthcare and Retail, juxtaposed with the contraction of traditional sectors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 9.0

这篇回答非常优秀。它清晰地识别了图表的主要特征，包括制造业的峰值、医疗保健和零售业的稳步增长，以及农业的稳定性。概述简洁明了，有效地突出了美国经济的结构性转变。所有数据点报告准确，各行业间的比较整合得当。该回答通过提供清晰的总结和相关的支持细节，完全满足了任务要求，展现了高水平的分析能力。

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 9.0

这篇回答逻辑严密，观点推进清晰。每个段落都有明确的目的：引言设定背景，概述提供趋势总结，主体段落详述具体数据，结尾句综合了研究发现。文中自然且有效地使用了 'Conversely', 'meanwhile', 和 'juxtaposed with' 等衔接词来连接观点。分段恰当，信息流动顺畅，全文易于阅读。

Lexical Resource — Band 9.0

词汇精准且高级，展现了广泛的主题相关术语。例如 'structural economic shift', 'surged dramatically', 'plateaued', 和 'burgeoning dominance' 等短语使用得准确自然。作者展现了对搭配和学术语体的强大掌控力，这增强了报告的清晰度和专业基调。在词汇选择或拼写上没有错误，所用语言非常适合描述经济趋势的任务。

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 9.0

该回答展示了广泛且高准确度的语法结构。对于复杂句的使用，例如分词短语 'accentuating the burgeoning dominance...' 以及使用破折号来插入补充信息，处理得游刃有余。标点符号使用正确，有效地管理了信息流。绝大多数句子没有错误，时态和体态的控制与描述历史数据的要求保持一致。文章流畅，展现了极高的语法灵活性。

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