Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-07

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 graphic below depicts information about the number of jobs in manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare economies in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, it can be observed that manufacturing presented the highest economy with a slowly decreased throughout the years. While retail and healthcare increased its figures, agriculture remained bottomed out with no significant changes.

Manufacturing economy represented the most significant market with 15 million jobs by 1960, increasing to 20 million by 1980. However, its numbers significantly decreased to 13 million by the end of the timeline.

Despise sharing 6 million of jobs in 1960, retail and agriculture economies had a different numbers throughout the 60-year period. Retail increased its figures from 15 million in 2000, to approximately 17 million by the end of 2020. Whereas, agriculture slightly decreased its numbers to almost 3 million by 2020.

Finally, healthcare economy also increased its figures from 2 million to just above 10 million by 2000, reaching its highest point by 2020 with approximately 17 million of jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all four sectors and identifies key trends, such as the decline in manufacturing and the growth in healthcare. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; for instance, stating manufacturing had a 'slowly decreased' is misleading given the significant drop from 20 million to 13 million. Additionally, the data interpretation contains errors, such as claiming retail started at 6 million in 1960, which is not supported by the graph. While the main features are highlighted, the lack of precision in reporting data points and the misinterpretation of trends prevent a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organised into paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific sectors. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'Whereas', and 'Finally', which help guide the reader. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or misused, such as 'Despise' (likely meant 'Despite') at the start of a paragraph. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the referencing of data could be smoother to improve the flow between sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'sectors', 'economy', and 'timeline'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'line graphic' instead of 'line graph', 'presented the highest economy', and 'bottomed out with no significant changes'. The phrase '17 million of jobs' is also grammatically incorrect. While the range is sufficient to convey the main points, the lack of precision and occasional misuse of terminology limit the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('retail and healthcare increased its figures') and incorrect word forms ('Despise' instead of 'Despite'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the misuse of prepositions and articles is noticeable. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures.

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

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