Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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 proportion of jobs in four categories (manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare) of economy from 1960 to 2020 in the United States.

Overall, manufacturing started off as the highest job payed sector, while healthcare was the lowest job sector in 1960. Retail, and agriculture were at the second job sector in economy over the same period. By 2020, healthcare and retail were the leading job categories, making manufacturing as the second most

contributing job sector, after its considerable decline. Also agriculture declined, and remaind almost constant over the given period.

In 1960, manufacturing was leading at exactly 15M, then peaking at 20M, considerably declined over the peroid and ended at well over the 10M in 2020. agriculture, on the other hand, started at almost at 6M, gradually declined at approxiamtely 3M by 1980, remained almost constant over the next years.

Retail by contrat started at exactly 6M, dramatically increased over the given period while making an end at sharply 16M, also agriculture started at nearly 2M in 1960, moderatly rose to exactly 16M, marking both as the top leading payed jobs over the end of the given period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses the main features of the line graph by reporting data for manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare between 1960 and 2020. An overall trend is provided in the second paragraph, and key comparisons are made, such as identifying manufacturing as initially highest and healthcare rising to the top by 2020. However, there are some data inaccuracies and confusion in the body paragraphs; for example, the writer repeats agriculture twice with contradictory figures ('agriculture started at almost at 6M' and 'also agriculture started at nearly 2M'). Furthermore, some figures lack clarity or precise alignment with the visual prompt. Despite these minor data discrepancies, the key features and trends are adequately outlined, corresponding to a Band 6.0 performance under the task achievement criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into four distinct paragraphs, following a logical layout consisting of an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing specific sectors. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions and relationships between data points, such as 'Overall', 'By 2020', 'on the other hand', and 'also'. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally become faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Retail by contrat started' contains a typo and awkward linking, and the paragraphing of data feels slightly disjointed due to repetitive mentions of agriculture. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the essay, but the logical progression within paragraphs could be tighter. This performance aligns well with a Band 6.0 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for describing economic trends, using terms such as 'proportion', 'considerably declined', 'peaking', 'gradually declined', and 'dramatically increased'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors that detract from precision, including 'job payed' instead of 'job-paying', 'remaind', 'contrat', 'approximtely', and 'moderatly'. Some collocations are also awkward or inaccurate, such as 'leading job categories' combined with 'making manufacturing as the second most contributing job sector'. While the vocabulary is adequate to communicate the main points of the graph, these recurring mechanical and lexical errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting various introductory clauses and relative relationships, such as 'while making an end at sharply 16M' and 'after its considerable decline'. Grammatical control is mixed; there are several correct and well-formed sentences, but errors in punctuation, prepositions, and verb forms occur frequently throughout the text. Examples include 'manufacturing started off as the highest job payed sector', 'remaind almost constant', 'started at almost at 6M', and 'ended at well over the 10M'. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 6.0, making a Band 5.5 a more accurate representation of grammatical accuracy and range.

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

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