Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)
The Line illustrates how employment levels in million evolved across four US economic sectors between 1960 and 2020.
Overall, it is evident that manufacturing declined after peaking in 1980 while Healthcare and Retail grew steadily, with Agriculture remaining minimal and stable after 1980.
Regarding to the highest figure, in 1960 Manufacturing employed 15 million workers that rose in 1980 to 20 million opportunities before falling drastically to 13 million by 2020. Conversely, Healthcare cllimbed from 3 million in 1960 to 20 million workforce size by 2020. A similar pattern can be seen with the Retail sector starting at 6 million in 1960 over the period. Turning to the remaining sector, Agriculture hired 6 million workers at the staring that drops to 3 million in 1980 and has no significant changes thereafter.
On the whole, the employment shifted from traditional sectors towards the service based industries especially Healthcare and Retail showing the strong growth.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of employment levels across the four US economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. An appropriate overview is provided at the beginning and the end, highlighting key trends such as the decline in manufacturing and the significant growth in healthcare and retail. Relevant comparisons are made between the sectors, such as contrasting manufacturing's peak with the steady rise of healthcare. Key data points, including figures for 1960, 1980, and 2020, are accurately cited to support the overview. The task is fully and effectively addressed, meeting all requirements for an academic summary of visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The response is organized logically with a clear introduction, body paragraphs dealing with specific sectors, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Regarding to', 'Conversely', and 'Turning to'. However, there are minor awkward transitions, such as 'Regarding to', which is non-standard. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body details, and conclusion, ensuring a clear logical progression throughout the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for describing economic trends, using terms such as 'employment levels', 'peaking', 'decline', 'steadily', and 'fluctuated'. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as 'workforce size' instead of 'workforce', 'cllimbed' (spelling error), and 'at the staring' instead of 'at the start'. Nevertheless, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning with reasonable precision and flexibility.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and participial phrases ('The Line illustrates how employment levels in million evolved...', 'manufacturing declined after peaking in 1980'). There are some grammatical errors, including preposition misuse ('Regarding to' instead of 'Regarding'), spelling and typographical flaws ('cllimbed', 'staring'), and minor awkwardness in phrasing ('that drops to 3 million'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the majority of sentences remain clear and comprehensible.
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