Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-18

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 rendered line graph demonstrates the information about the total number of jobs throughout the four various sectors of economy in the United States in the time slot of 60 years, starting from 1960.

Overall assessment reveals that, Manufacturing secured its peak till the official starting of 20th century. However, on the other hand, the agriculture sector remained at the least position in terms of job opportunities throughout the directed time period.

By having a deep dive into the graph, it can be clearly seen that, initially there were c just 15 million jobs available in the manufacturing sector, which later grew up to 20 million in 1980, than significantly dropped to 13 million in the following years.

Talking about the retailing sector, which considerably climbt up to 16 million job securities from just 6 million in the overall mentioned time period. similarly, The healthcare sector also follows the identical aesthetics as of the retail sector. Which in starting of 1960, having just 2 million jobs and later provided 16 million jobs in 2020. While, Agriculture sector dropped from 6 million to 2 million employments at the end of the era.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the graph, identifying trends in the four sectors. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, the student mentions the manufacturing sector peaked at the 'official starting of 20th century,' which is not supported by the data provided (1960–2020). Additionally, the description of the manufacturing trend is confusing, and the claim that the agriculture sector dropped from 6 million to 2 million is not clearly supported by the visual evidence. While the main features are identified, the lack of precision in data interpretation and the inclusion of irrelevant historical context prevent a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. The use of cohesive devices is sometimes forced or inappropriate, such as 'By having a deep dive into the graph' and 'on the other hand' used incorrectly in the context of the overview. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the connection between sentences is sometimes disjointed. While the overall structure is present, the progression of ideas is not always smooth, and the paragraphing could be more effectively utilised to separate the overview from the detailed analysis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks precision and contains several unnatural collocations. Phrases like 'time slot of 60 years,' 'identical aesthetics,' and 'job securities' are misused or inappropriate for an academic report. There is an attempt to use a range of vocabulary, but the errors in word choice occasionally impede the clarity of the message. The student relies on basic descriptive language, and there is a lack of sophisticated terminology related to data analysis, such as 'fluctuated,' 'remained stable,' or 'accounted for.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include incorrect verb forms ('climbt up'), subject-verb agreement errors ('The healthcare sector also follows...'), and punctuation mistakes, such as the unnecessary comma after 'seen that' and the sentence fragment starting with 'Which in starting'. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors is noticeable and occasionally distracts the reader. A greater focus on sentence construction and proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy is required to reach a higher band.

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