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 about number of employments in four departments of economy in the United States by the years of 1960 and 2020.

Overall, the period was marked by a clear divergence in jobs availability. The retail and healthcare sectors marked up a significant rise over the time, while the manufacturing and agricultural fields have been observed a steady fall since the period. Conversely, the retail and healthcare departments eventually overtook both the remaining sectors by the end of the period.

Since 1960, manufacturing field reached at its peak in terms of job vacancies which accounted for 20 millions before declining to around 13 millions in 2020. In contrast, agriculture sectors also saw a considerable fall in number of jobs which started from around 6 millions in 1960 and ended up to just 3 millions in 2020.

On the other hand, healthcare department had taken its start with lowest employment opportunities which comprised of only around 3 millions in 1960, while substantially escalated to approximately 15 millions in 2020. Furthermore, retail sector also marked rise from roughly 6 millions to 15 millions by 1960 and 2020. Noticeably, the overall number of jobs had become pretty stable in manufacturing, retail and healthcare sectors just before the end of the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting on the four economic sectors in the US between 1960 and 2020. An appropriate overview is provided, highlighting the general trends and the way retail and healthcare overtook manufacturing and agriculture. Main features are selected and effectively compared, such as the peak of manufacturing at 20 million jobs and the relative trajectories of the remaining categories. While some data points could be slightly more integrated, the overall response fulfills the requirements of the task very well, aligning closely with the Band 7 requirements for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, and concluding with detailed body paragraphs. There is a clear logical progression throughout the text. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as "Overall", "In contrast", and "Furthermore". However, there are occasional awkward transitions or slight misuses, such as "On the other hand" used where another contrast marker might be smoother, and minor referencing issues. Overall arrangement is coherent, fitting well into the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range, justified by clear paragraphing and general flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, including terms like "divergence", "escalated", "considerable fall", and "employment opportunities". There are some lexical inaccuracies and slightly unnatural collocations, such as "jobs availability" instead of "job availability" and "departments of economy" instead of "sectors of the economy". However, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning clearly, and errors do not impede communication, which places this response comfortably at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used throughout the essay. The student attempts complex structures with varying degrees of success, such as "Since 1960, manufacturing field reached at its peak... which accounted for 20 millions". There are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including missing articles ("manufacturing field", "retail sector"), incorrect prepositions ("reached at its peak"), and pluralization errors ("20 millions"). Despite these errors, the sentences are generally understandable and communication is rarely impeded, warranting a Band 6.0.

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.