Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates changes in the number of jobs in four sectors of the US economy between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, employment in retail and healthcare increased significantly, whereas agriculture declined. Manufacturing initially rose before falling after 1980. By 2020, retail and healthcare had the highest employment figures.

In 1960, manufacturing employed 15 million people, compared with 6 million in retail. Manufacturing peaked at 20 million in 1980 before decreasing to 17 million in 2000 and approximately 13 million in 2020. In contrast, retail employment increased steadily, reaching 10 million in 1980, 15 million in 2000 and 16 million by 2020.

Healthcare employment rose considerably from 2 million in 1960 to 5 million in 1980, before reaching 11 million in 2000 and 16 million in 2020. Meanwhile, agriculture fell from 6 million to around 3 million, eventually declining to 2 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all four sectors and identifies the main trends, such as the growth in healthcare and retail versus the decline in agriculture. However, the response is 142 words long, failing to meet the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length significantly impacts the task achievement score, as it prevents a more thorough analysis or a more detailed comparison of the data points. While the overview is clear and the key features are highlighted, the brevity limits the depth of the response, which is a requirement for higher band scores.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that group the data effectively. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', and 'before reaching' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the trends. The paragraphing is logical, and the progression of ideas is easy to follow. While the structure is sound, the limited length restricts the opportunity to demonstrate a wider range of cohesive devices, but the current usage is accurate and serves the purpose of the report well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'significantly', 'peaked', and 'steadily' to describe the trends accurately. The range is sufficient to convey the information clearly without repetition. While there is no attempt at highly sophisticated or uncommon lexical items, the word choice is precise and appropriate for an academic report. To reach a higher band, you could incorporate more varied synonyms for 'increased' or 'decreased' and use more precise collocations to describe the rate of change.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. The grammar is generally accurate, with no significant errors that impede communication. Examples like 'Manufacturing initially rose before falling after 1980' show a good command of complex sentence construction. Punctuation is used correctly throughout. While the range of structures is somewhat limited by the short length of the text, the sentences produced are error-free and demonstrate a solid grasp of English grammar suitable for this type of task.

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

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