Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-31

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 graph illustrates information about jobs in four sectors of the US economy which include manufacturing, retail, agriculture, healthcare from the year 1990 to 2020.

Overall view of the graph shows that manufacturing had the highest number of jobs available for most of the period. In constrast retail and healthcare grew substantially over the years, but agriculture declined through the years.

In 1960 manufacturing had the highest number of jobs of about 15 million and reached his peak of 20 million jobs in 1980. However agriculture and retail both had 6 millions jobs in 1960, while retail grew gradually and reached hispeaked of 13 million jobs in 2020, agriculture suffered a continue declined through the years, eventually in 2020, only 2 millions jobs are available

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the task. While you have identified the main trends, the analysis is incomplete. You missed mentioning the healthcare sector entirely in the body paragraphs, despite listing it in the introduction. Furthermore, the data points provided are sometimes inaccurate or lack precision, such as the incorrect date range in the introduction (1990 instead of 1960). To improve, ensure you cover all categories shown in the graph and provide a more thorough comparison of the data points throughout the entire period.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by the lack of a second body paragraph, which makes the structure feel unbalanced. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However' and 'In contrast', but they are somewhat mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, and the transition between the overview and the specific data is abrupt. To improve, use more varied linking words and ensure that each paragraph has a clear, singular focus to guide the reader through your analysis.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for higher bands. You rely on basic verbs like 'grew' and 'declined' repeatedly. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'his peak' (referring to a sector) and 'continue declined' (should be 'continued decline'). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary related to trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'surged', or 'plummeted', and ensure correct grammatical forms of these words are used.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('only 2 millions jobs are available') and incorrect pronoun usage ('reached his peak'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to lower the score. Focus on proofreading for basic errors like pluralisation and verb tense consistency to improve your accuracy.

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

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