Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The line chart depicts the information of four industries manufacturing, retail, agriculture and healthcare illustrating the number of jobs available and the job market in USA between the year of 1960 to 2020.
Overall, It has seen that manufacturing sector faced down fall after the year of 1980 it is continually declining and set at the 13 million number from the 20 million. However, agriculture industry was at the 6 million position but declined after 1960 and after 1980 to 2000 maintained average jobs in the market.
The retail industry has rise drastically in the year of 1960 stated 5 million jobs and in 1980, 2000 and 2020 have peak level 10,15, 16 respectively. Same growth goes to healthcare segment starting from 3 million jobs during 1960 and reaching 16 million job market, same level as the retail industry.
In contrast, Manufacture and farming job market was declined heavily and farming sector almost touched the line in 2020.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully covers all four economic sectors (manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare) over the 60-year period from 1960 to 2020. An overall trend is provided in the second paragraph, and key features such as the peak levels in retail and healthcare alongside the decline in manufacturing and farming are highlighted and compared. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific figures (for instance, stating that retail and healthcare reached 16 million jobs in 2020 while overlooking slight fluctuations or exact endpoints, and mixing up certain timeframes). The overview and main features are present, but the lack of precise data points prevents the response from achieving a higher band. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, placing it firmly at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The report is structured into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on different sectors. There is a basic logical arrangement, and the response attempts to use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in awkward transitions like 'Same growth goes to healthcare segment' and repetitive sentence structures ('after 1980... and after 1980 to 2000'). Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks seamless progression. These features align closely with the Band 6 descriptors for Coherence and Cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms like 'manufacturing sector', 'retail industry', 'agriculture industry', and 'job market'. The student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'drastically', 'continually declining', and 'peak level', but errors in word choice and collocation are apparent, such as 'faced down fall' instead of 'faced a downturn' and 'has rise' instead of 'has risen'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is inconsistent. These characteristics reflect a typical Band 5.5 performance, where a limited yet minimally adequate range leads to noticeable errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some variety in grammatical structures. However, frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing impede clarity at times. Examples include 'It has seen that' instead of 'It can be seen that', 'manufacturing sector faced down fall after the year of 1980 it is continually declining' (comma splice and tense inconsistency), and 'stated 5 million jobs' instead of 'starting at 5 million jobs'. Punctuation and verb tense consistency need significant improvement. Because errors are frequent in complex structures and impact readability, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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