Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-26

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs in four sectors namely: manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare in the United States over the period of 61 years, spanning from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, there has been a significant change in the number of jobs of each sector by the end of the period. A dramatic rise in the number of jobs is observed where livelihood depends on retail and healthcare. While the other two sectors manufacturing and agriculture has faced slow steady decline.

Healthcare has the most profound growth despite being least job provider at the start of the period of around 2.5 millions. Similar growth is shown by retail sector starting with just above 5 million jobs managed to tie with the healthcare by the end of the period.

By contrast, manufacturing was the most prominent sector in 1960 which grew in the year 1980 before declining below 15 million by 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all four sectors and identifies the main trends, such as the growth in healthcare and retail versus the decline in manufacturing and agriculture. However, the overview is slightly underdeveloped; while it mentions a 'significant change,' it could be more specific about the divergence between the two growing and two declining sectors. The data reporting is generally accurate, but the description of the manufacturing trend is slightly confusing, as it mentions growth in 1980 without providing the specific context of the peak. To reach a higher band, ensure that the most significant features are highlighted more clearly in the overview and that all data points are described with precision.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from general trends to specific sector comparisons. Cohesive devices such as 'While,' 'By contrast,' and 'Despite' are used to link ideas effectively. However, the paragraphing is slightly unbalanced, and some transitions could be more sophisticated to improve the flow. The referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the sentences in the third paragraph could be smoother to avoid a slightly mechanical feel.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common items like 'profound growth' and 'prominent sector.' However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'livelihood depends on retail' (which is slightly awkward in this context) and 'least job provider' (should be 'the sector providing the fewest jobs'). The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but more precise terminology related to trends (e.g., 'surpassed,' 'plummeted,' 'fluctuated') would enhance the quality of the report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('manufacturing and agriculture has faced' should be 'have faced') and article usage ('the retail sector' vs 'retail sector'). Additionally, there are minor punctuation and phrasing errors, such as 'namely: manufacturing' and 'grew in the year 1980 before declining.' While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher band score. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and consistent article usage will help improve accuracy.

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

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