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 graph illustrates the number of jobs in four different categories namely - manufacturing , retail, agriculture, and healthcare in the US economy from 1960 to 2020 .

Overall, healthcare and retail sector jobs drastically increased over the period . By contrast , despite having lower jobs in the agriculture sector the numbers fell gradually , while number of jobs in manufacturing decreases inspite of being the highest in 1960.

In 1960,manufacturing jobs recorded the highest at 15millions in the US and further increases in 1980 at 20 millions before decreasing significantly and recorded 17millions in 2000 to 113 million in 2020. Additionally agriculture had the lower number of jobs in 1960 at just 6 millions and declined further in 3 millions in 1980 to just 2 millions in 2020.

Turning to healthcare which had the lowest jobs in 1960 at just 2 millions had significantly increases over the period from 5millions in 1980 to 15 millions in 2020 . Furthermore retail jobs also had the lower number of jobs at around 6millions in 1960 but the numbers climbed up significantly from 10 millions in 1980 to 16 millions in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the four economic sectors. The overview correctly highlights the upward trends in healthcare and retail alongside the declines in agriculture and manufacturing. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, manufacturing is stated to be '113 million in 2020', which is an obvious typographical or mathematical error given the context of the graph. Similarly, the agriculture sector is described as having 'declined further in 3 millions in 1980', which presents minor confusion in phrasing. Despite these data anomalies, the core trends are clearly identified and supported with figures from the stimulus, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor criteria.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured into four distinct paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on contrasting sectors. There is a logical overall arrangement, and the writer uses basic cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'By contrast', and 'Additionally' to connect ideas. However, paragraphing and referencing could be improved. The division of body paragraphs mixes trends somewhat haphazardly, and referencing occasionally lacks clarity, such as pronouns or missing prepositions in phrases like 'declined further in 3 millions'. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical, but the overall progression of information remains comprehensible throughout the report, fitting Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for this Task 1 response, incorporating sector-specific terms like 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. There are attempts to use less common verbs and adverbs such as 'drastically', 'gradually', and 'significantly'. However, numerous lexical and collocational inaccuracies are present throughout the text, such as 'lower jobs' instead of 'fewer jobs', 'decreases' instead of 'decreased', and awkward phrasing like 'had the lower number of jobs'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but misuse of basic determiners and word forms occasionally creates minor strain for the reader, placing this securely at Band 5.5, rounded to Band 6 for acceptable task coverage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are frequent errors with tense consistency and prepositions, such as 'further increases in 1980' instead of 'increased further in 1980', and 'declined further in 3 millions'. Punctuation is also problematic, with irregular spacing around commas and periods throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the writing from achieving a higher band, making Band 5.5 an appropriate reflection of the current grammatical control.

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