Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 information regarding number of jobs in four sectors of economy namely, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, higher number of jobs available in manufacturing field. However, retail, retail, and healthcare shows upward trend and agriculture went down in number of jobs.

In 1960, manufacturing area offerd 15 million jobs, 6 million for retail and agriculture, nearly 3 million for healthcare sector. In 1980, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare sector gradually increased with 20, 10, and 5 millions respectively. while agriculture field decreased to 2 million jobs.

In 2000, manufacturing sector experienced decrement. However, retail and healthcare continuously surged to 15, and 12 million respectively. In 2020, agriculture field fluctuated and closed with 3 million jobs. Additionally, retail and agriculture sector closed at same place with 17 million jobs. In contrast, only manufacturing field job decreased and stood at 13 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying and reporting the main features of the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. The student correctly highlights that manufacturing started and generally remained the highest, while noting the upward trends in retail and healthcare and the downward or fluctuating trend in agriculture. Key data points such as the 15 million starting figure for manufacturing and the final figures for 2020 are accurately cited and compared. However, the overview paragraph is slightly underdeveloped and contains repetition (e.g., 'retail, retail'), and the selection of data points could be structured with greater clarity to fully highlight the overarching trends. Overall, the response addresses the prompt effectively, earning a band score of 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The report features a clear overall arrangement with distinct paragraphs for the introduction, overview, and body details. Cohesive devices and time markers are utilised to guide the reader through the data, such as 'In 1960', 'In 1980', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and progression are occasionally faulty, particularly in the overview where 'retail, retail' is repeated, and at the end of the final paragraph where 'retail and agriculture sector closed at same place' is confusingly phrased since agriculture was previously stated to be 3 million while retail reached 17 million. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but logical progression between sentences within body paragraphs requires finer control. This performance aligns with the band 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'manufacturing sector', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. There are also attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'fluctuated', 'experiencing decrement', and 'surged'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'offerd' instead of 'offered', 'decrement' instead of 'a decrease' or 'a decline', and awkward phrasing like 'higher number of jobs available in manufacturing field'. Spelling errors ('offerd') and repetitive vocabulary slightly limit the precision of the text. Because the lexical range is sufficient for the task despite these flaws, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating introductory prepositional phrases and comparative structures. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles (e.g., 'higher number of jobs', 'in manufacturing field'), tense and verb agreement errors (e.g., 'retail, and healthcare shows upward trend'), and fragments or awkward ellipses (e.g., '6 million for retail and agriculture'). While these errors do not impede overall communication and the reader can still follow the data, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a higher band. Control over punctuation and basic grammar is generally maintained, justifying a score of 6.0.

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

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