Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-11

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 8.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of employees in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020. Overall, the number of retail and healthcare workers increased, albeit at varying rates, while the reverse was true for manufacturing and agriculture. However, the number of manufacturing workers stood out among the other categories with consistently higher figures.

Focusing on the increases first, the number of retail jobs started at about 6 million in 1960. Over the six decades, it experienced a substantial increase from 6 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020. Similarly, the number of healthcare jobs grew dramatically from 2 million in 1960 to 16 million in 2020.

By contrast, the number of manufacturing and agriculture jobs decreased over the period. The number of manufacturing jobs increased steadily from 15 million in 1960 to 20 million in 1980, but this was followed by a sharp decrease to 13 million in the final year. The number of agriculture jobs declined gradually from 5 million in 1960 to about 2 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

The response covers all parts of the task well. You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview in the introduction. The comparison between sectors is effective, and the data points are used accurately to support the descriptions. To reach a Band 8 or 9, ensure that the 'main features' are highlighted even more distinctly; for instance, noting that healthcare and retail ended at the same point (16 million) is a strong analytical observation. The structure is logical and the information is well-selected, meeting the requirements for a high-level summary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The response is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. You have used paragraphing effectively to separate the increasing trends from the decreasing ones. Cohesive devices such as 'Similarly', 'By contrast', and 'However' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the data. The flow between sentences is smooth, and the referencing is clear throughout. The response demonstrates a good command of organizational features, making it easy to follow the comparison of the four sectors over the sixty-year period.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe trends, such as 'substantial increase', 'grew dramatically', and 'declined gradually'. The language is precise and appropriate for an academic report. There are no significant errors in word choice or collocation. To improve further, you could incorporate more sophisticated vocabulary to describe the nature of the changes, such as 'surged', 'plummeted', or 'fluctuated', which would demonstrate a more flexible and wider lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

The response demonstrates a good variety of complex structures, such as the use of 'albeit' and subordinate clauses. The majority of your sentences are error-free, and the punctuation is handled correctly. The control over grammar is consistent, and there are no errors that impede communication. The sentence structures are varied enough to maintain interest and clarity. To achieve a higher band, you could experiment with more advanced grammatical structures, such as passive voice constructions or participle phrases, to further enhance the academic tone.

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

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