Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-05

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 5.5)

The line graph tracks the changes in the number of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare sectors of the US economy between 1960 and 2020. The units are measured in millions.

Overall, retail and healthcare sectors employment increased dramatically over the period, while manufacturing jobs fluctuated. In contrast, agricultural workers considerably declined.

In 1960, manufacturing jobs was the largest sector, with 15 million jobs, this figure rose in 1980 by 20 million, before falling significantly to 13 million in 2020. Moreover, retail workers leapt by 6 million to 15 million from 1960 to 2000, before reaching 16 million in 2020.

Healthcare employment soared throughout the period. It grew from 3 million jobs in 1960 to 5 million in 1980, while steadily soaring at 16 million followed by next 40 years. However, agriculture sector jobs began with 6 million in 1960, which declined continuously till 2020 by 2 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response provides a clear overview of the trends, identifying the main features such as the growth in healthcare and retail and the decline in agriculture. However, the response falls just short of the 150-word minimum, which impacts the overall score. While the key features are highlighted, some data points are slightly inaccurate or confusingly phrased, such as the claim that manufacturing rose by 20 million in 1980, which is not supported by the provided graph. To improve, ensure that all data points are transcribed accurately and that the word count is strictly met to avoid a penalty.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. There is a clear progression of ideas, and the use of cohesive devices like 'In contrast', 'Moreover', and 'However' helps to link sentences effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sectors. To reach a higher band, ensure that the transition between sentences is smoother and avoid slightly awkward phrasing, such as 'followed by next 40 years', which disrupts the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, with terms like 'fluctuated', 'considerably declined', and 'soared' used to describe trends. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'manufacturing jobs was' (subject-verb agreement) and 'steadily soaring at 16 million', which is slightly unnatural. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, but more precise and varied collocations would elevate the response to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('manufacturing jobs was') and awkward prepositional usage ('declined... by 2 million' when referring to the final total). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they are frequent enough to limit the score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring consistent verb tenses would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

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

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