Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph compares the number of jobs in 4 sectors of the economy in the United States from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, manufacturing and agriculture jobs decreased noticeable over the period, while retail and healthcare jobs increased significantly at the end of the period.

In 1960, there were 15,000,000 jobs available in the manufacturing sector, then peaked to 20 million in 1980, then plummeted to around 13 million in 2020. Similarly, the agricultural sector had about 7 million works available for citizens in 1960, but declined sharply to around 3 million in 1980, and remained relatively stable for the remaining period.

However, healthcare had the least availability of jobs in 1960 at around 2 million but increased noticeable to above 15 million jobs at the end of the period. Finally, retail began at the same rate with agriculture with about 7 million jobs available, but grew massively to approximately 15 million in 2020

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully identifies the main trends and provides a clear overview of the data. You have selected key features, such as the decline in manufacturing and agriculture and the growth in healthcare and retail, and made relevant comparisons. The data is accurately reported, and the inclusion of specific figures supports your points well. To reach a higher band, ensure that the overview is more distinct from the body paragraphs and consider grouping the sectors more logically (e.g., those that declined versus those that grew) to enhance the clarity of the comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Similarly', 'However', and 'Finally' to link your points. However, the paragraphing is slightly inconsistent due to formatting issues, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensure that the relationship between sentences is more fluid, rather than relying on simple sequence markers.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'plummeted', 'sharply', and 'relatively stable' to describe trends. However, there are some errors in word form and collocation, such as 'decreased noticeable' (should be 'noticeably') and 'works available' (should be 'workers' or 'jobs'). These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the precision of your writing. To improve, focus on using adverbs correctly with verbs and expanding your repertoire of synonyms for 'increase' and 'decrease'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with word forms and verb tenses, such as 'increased noticeable' instead of 'noticeably' and 'began at the same rate with agriculture' which is slightly awkward phrasing. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are minor issues with sentence structure. To achieve a higher score, aim for more error-free complex sentences and ensure consistent control over verb forms and adverbial modifiers.

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