Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line chart illustrates the information about the numbers of employment in four different sectors of the economy in America between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, it is evident that retail and healthcare sectors experienced an upward trend over the period, the figures for manufacturing and agriculture sectors declined substantially. Additionally, manufacturing sector remained the dominated throughout the timeframe.

To begin with, manufacturing sector recorded the highest share of number of jobs at 15 million in 1960, this trend reached a peak 20 million jobs in 1980. However, it was continuously decreasing, which stood to 6 million jobs in 2020. Retail sector accounted for the second largest share of jobs market at 6 million in 1960, it dramatically plumted to 15 million jobs in 2000.

Turning to the next details, starting year agriculture sector stood at 5 million, then it experienced steady declined over the period and which reached to 2.5 million in 2020. Healthcare sector had the smallest number of job at 2.5 miliion, it was seen significant rose. retails healthcare sector was overtaking manufacturing, it stood to 16 million jobs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The candidate successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons across the four sectors. An overview is provided, highlighting the upward trends in retail and healthcare alongside the downward trends in manufacturing and agriculture. Key data points are cited to support the description, such as manufacturing starting at 15 million in 1960 and peaking at 20 million in 1980. However, there are significant data misinterpretations that prevent a higher band score; for instance, the writer states that the retail sector 'dramatically plumted to 15 million jobs in 2000' despite the graph showing an increase, and confuses numbers with other sectors. Nevertheless, the overall requirements of summarizing the graph are met, earning a solid band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the trends. Cohesive devices and transition phrases are attempted, such as 'Overall, it is evident', 'To begin with', and 'Turning to the next details'. However, referencing and cohesion are frequently faulty or mechanical, and some sentences lack clear logical links, such as 'retails healthcare sector was overtaking manufacturing, it stood to 16 million jobs.' Paragraphing is used, but internal flow within paragraphs is disrupted by grammatical lapses and awkward transitions. Overall coherence is maintained well enough to follow the general narrative, aligning closely with the Band 5.5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common items and topic-specific vocabulary such as 'employment', 'sectors', 'economy', and 'trend'. However, there are noticeable word-choice errors, misuse of terms, and confusion in data reporting verbs, such as using 'plumted' (plummeted) to describe an increase, and spelling errors like 'miliion' and 'retails'. Vocabulary range is somewhat limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic phrasing. Because these lexical errors and limitations occasionally cause confusion for the reader regarding the data, the lexical resource is graded at a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using subordinate clauses with 'which' and 'while'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors such as run-on sentences and comma splices ('Retail sector accounted for the second largest share of jobs market at 6 million in 1960, it dramatically plumted...'), missing prepositions ('stood to 6 million'), and subject-verb agreement issues. Complex structures are often faulty and awkward. While meaning is generally retrievable despite the errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips places this response firmly in the band 5.0 category.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.