Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given bar chat provides information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020. The jobs were divided into four different sector like manufacturing, reatil , agriculture and healthcare.

Overall, in this line chart the highest one was manufacturing job sector in the beginning phase. After that at the same time the lowest one job sector was the healthcare. Four decades later, the highest one were retail and healthcare job sector. while the lowest one was agriculture job sector.

In the 1960 the highest one was manufacturing around the 15 jobs in millions. after that the second places there were two job sectors retail and agriculture. it were around 6 millions jobs. then after the the lwast one was healthcare job sector around 3 millions jobs.

The highest grew in this line chart was only two sectors. The retail and agriculture one. that both started between 0 millions to 6 millions jobs. After four decades that almost reached around 16 millions jobs. Another one was manufactring and healthcare were droped to compare the starting point.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by summarizing the main features of the graph regarding US employment sectors between 1960 and 2020. However, there are significant inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the student states that manufacturing started at around 15 million jobs and that retail and agriculture grew to reach around 16 million jobs, which misrepresents the visual data provided in the prompt. Furthermore, the confusion regarding whether the stimulus is a bar chart or a line chart (referred to as both) weakens the clarity of the report. While an overview is attempted, the lack of accurate data reporting and flawed comparisons mean the response only partially satisfies the requirements of this task, aligning best with a Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is organized into four paragraphs, reflecting an attempt at a logical structure with an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. However, coherence is heavily disrupted by repetitive phrasing, imprecise referencing (e.g., 'the highest one', 'another one'), and mechanical or awkward cohesive devices such as 'After that at the same time' and 'then after the the lwast one'. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow of ideas lacks clear progression. Referencing and substitution are frequently faulty, making it difficult to follow the relationships between data points. This level of organization and cohesive control corresponds to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is narrow and repetitive, relying heavily on basic terms like 'highest', 'lowest', 'jobs', and 'sectors'. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as misspelling 'retail' as 'reatil' and 'manufacturing' as 'manufactring', as well as word choice errors like 'The highest grew in this line chart was only two sectors'. The student attempts less common vocabulary (e.g., 'sector', 'agriculture', 'healthcare'), but inaccuracies in word formation and collocation are frequent. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey a basic topic, the repetition and errors restrict the score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the highest one were retail', 'it were around 6 millions jobs'), incorrect prepositions, and faulty tense usage. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, with fragments and run-on structures appearing throughout the text (e.g., 'The retail and agriculture one. that both started...'). These frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.

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

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