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 graph provides information about the number of jobs in four zones of the economy, over a sixty year period from 1960 to 2020 in the United states.

Overall, what stands out from graph is that there were considerable upward trends in the sector of Healthcareand Retail, while there was a considerable fall in the sector of Agriculture and manufacturing over the period in question.

Looking in the details, in 1960 the manufacturing sector was at 15 million. It was higher as compared to others. Than it rapidly increased from 15 million in 1960 to 20 million in 1980, as highest in all four sectors. After that it rapidly fell from 1980 to 2020 to almost 13 million.

While retail sector rapidly increased from 6 million to 15 million till 2000, then it remained constant at 16 million from 2000 to 2020. While similar to this healthcare sector jobs rapidly rose from 3 million to 16 million from 1960 to 2020. This sector continously increased the job ratio in US.

In contrast, the agriculture sector fell from 6 million to 3 million from 1960 to 1980, after that it remained constant at that point from 1980 to 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing an overview and selecting the main features and trends of the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. The key changes, such as the growth in healthcare and retail alongside the decline or fluctuations in manufacturing and agriculture, are clearly identified. However, there are some minor numerical inaccuracies in the descriptions, such as stating that manufacturing peaked at 20 million in 1980 when it actually started around 15 million in 1960 and fluctuated, or confusing the trends of retail and manufacturing briefly. Despite these minor data interpretation slips, the main features are sufficiently reported and supported with data from the graph, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.5, rounded to a Band 6.0 based on precision.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overall summary, and body paragraphs detailing the specific sectors. There is a clear logical progression overall, allowing the reader to follow the information easily. Cohesive devices are used, though there is a tendency to rely on repetitive transitional phrases at the beginnings of sentences, such as 'While' and 'After that'. Referencing is generally clear, though paragraphing could be better managed to group contrasting trends more effectively. Because of the mechanical use of cohesive devices and occasional repetitive linking, the response fits well within the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for Task 1, including terms like 'considerable upward trends', 'rapidly increased', and 'remain constant'. However, there are several word choice errors, spelling mistakes, and fusion errors, such as 'Healthcareand', 'Looking in the details' instead of 'Looking at the details', and 'continous' instead of 'continuous'. Less common lexical items are attempted, but inaccuracies in collocation and word formation prevent the score from reaching a higher band. Communication is not impeded, but vocabulary control remains at a Band 6 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like 'while'. However, there are noticeable grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text. Examples include tense inconsistencies and awkward transitions, such as starting a sentence with 'Than it rapidly increased' (confusing 'then' and 'than') and 'This sector continously increased the job ratio in US' (missing the article 'the' before US). Punctuation and article usage are inconsistent. While the meaning remains generally clear, the frequency of errors places this firmly in the Band 6 category.

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