Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 chart depicts the proportion of jobs in US in 4 different sectors over the span of 61 years beginning from 1960.

The first look reveals that jobs in the retail shops stood at nearly 6 million jobs in 1960, which increased gradually over the period of time and accounted a final figure of 16 million jobs, whereas jobs in the healthcare at meagre 2 million jobs in 1960, but sharply rose in the succeeding years and noted a final figure of 16 million jobs in 2020.

The closer look shows that in 1960, jobs in the agriculture sector at nearly 6 million jobs, which declined marginally and recorded a final figure of 1 millions jobs, while manufacturing sector has highest jobs at 15 million in 1960, that showed fluctuating trend in the succeeding years and accounted a figure of 13 million jobs.

The overall look clears that in the beginning manufacture sectors dominated in jobs market, while healthcare was the least, however in the end retail and health care were higher and agriculture was the last.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all four sectors and identifies the main trends over the period. However, the overview is somewhat weak; while it attempts to summarise the main features, it lacks a clear, cohesive synthesis of the data. The description of the trends is generally accurate, but the report would benefit from more precise comparisons between the sectors at key points in time. The inclusion of specific data points is good, but the overall structure of the summary could be more analytical rather than just listing the figures for each sector individually.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on specific sectors. There is a clear progression of ideas from the introduction to the body paragraphs and the final summary. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'The first look', 'The closer look', 'The overall look'). The transition between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother to improve the flow of information. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure feels a bit formulaic.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, with some attempts to use sector-specific terminology like 'manufacturing' and 'agriculture'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'accounted a final figure' and 'noted a final figure', which are not natural collocations. There are also minor errors in word form, such as '1 millions jobs'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise and varied vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'surged', 'plummeted', or 'remained relatively stable'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the writing. For example, 'jobs in the healthcare at meagre 2 million' is missing a verb, and 'manufacturing sector has highest jobs' lacks the necessary article. There are also issues with subject-verb agreement and preposition usage throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score. More attention to basic sentence construction and proofreading for articles and prepositions is needed.

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