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 graph illustrates the information about the jobs number in the four sections of the economy in the United State of America between 1960 and 2020.
Overall the graphs shows the four different sectors including Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and the Healthcare sector. The graph represents the increase and decrease in the number of jobs in each sectors in the US between 1960 and 2020.The graph shows the jobs in millions vertically and years 1960 to 2020 horizontally.
The Manufacturing sector increase from 1960 to 1980 and then it decreases in year 2000 and 2020. The Retail sector increase from 1960 to 1980 and then again it increases in the year 2000 and in the year 2020 the retail sector surpasses the manufacturing sector. The Agriculture sector decreases from year 1960 and then gradually it decreases in 1980, 2000 and 2020. The healthcare section shows the upper spike from 1960 and the gradually increases over years and the healthcare sector crosses the manufacturing sector and it becomes equal to retail sector in 2020 in terms of numbers of jobs.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the four economic sectors in the US and tracing their trends between 1960 and 2020. An overall trend is provided in the second paragraph, and key comparisons are made, such as retail surpassing manufacturing and healthcare equalling retail by 2020. However, the overview is somewhat repetitive and mechanically lists features rather than synthesising the broader trends effectively. Some data points lack precision, but the main features are adequately reported to meet the requirements of a Band 6.0 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, paragraphing is poorly handled, as the second paragraph awkwardly merges the overview with mechanical descriptions of the graph's axes and labels. Cohesive devices are repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'from 1960 to 1980 and then' and 'in the year'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'the upper spike from 1960', which makes the logical progression somewhat mechanical and repetitive, placing it firmly at a Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying economic sectors such as 'Manufacturing', 'Retail', 'Agriculture', and 'Healthcare'. However, the range is quite limited, and there is persistent repetition of basic verbs like 'increase', 'decreases', and 'shows'. There are also minor lexical inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as 'jobs number' instead of 'number of jobs' and 'upper spike' instead of an initial upward trend. While communication is not impeded, the lack of flexibility and uncommon lexical items restricts the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are often limited or repetitive in their construction (e.g., 'The Manufacturing sector increase from 1960 to 1980 and then it decreases...'). There are noticeable grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as 'sector increase' instead of 'increased', and mixing present and past tenses ('shows', 'increase', 'decreases'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors do not seriously impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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