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 graph below shows the information about the average number of jobs in four regions manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture, Healthcare of the economy in US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, Manufacturing is trending highest level while, Agriculture recorded the lowest trend.However, remaining categories experienced a significant increase throughout the period.

In 1960 number of job started from 15% and dramaticaly increased of 5% in 1980 then gradual decrease in the overall period eventually about reached 10% in 2020. In contrast, Agriculture recorded the lowest trending started in 1960 from approximately 5% and recoded the stable point in throughout the period of 2%. in 2020.

Turning back to the remaining categories of Healthcare and Retail started in 1960 from 5% to 2% respectively and both trends surge significantly and eventualy reached at about 15 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarize the main trends in the graph regarding job sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020. However, there are significant inaccuracies in reporting the data, such as misinterpreting the categories, confusing percentages with actual numbers or proportions, and stating that categories like Retail and Healthcare started at 5% and 2% respectively. Furthermore, the response is under-length, containing only 133 words against the minimum requirement of 150 words. This negative impact on length, combined with underdeveloped and inaccurate reporting of the data points, restricts the score for this criterion to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction and an overview. Cohesive devices are attempted with phrases such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Turning back to', but their usage is sometimes mechanical or imprecise. The logical progression is occasionally disrupted by confusing references and vague descriptions of the data points, such as 'Turning back to the remaining categories of Healthcare and Retail started in 1960 from 5% to 2% respectively'. Paragraphing is present, but overall cohesion is faulty. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is of a limited and repetitive nature, adequate only for basic communication. The student attempts some less common terms like 'dramatically', 'gradual', and 'significantly', but these are often paired with inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'trending highest level' and 'recoded the stable point'. There are also spelling errors like 'dramaticaly' and 'eventualy'. Because the lexical range is narrow and features noticeable errors, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to ungrammatical constructions and a lack of clear verbs in clauses (e.g., 'In 1960 number of job started from 15% and dramaticaly increased of 5% in 1980 then gradual decrease...'). There are frequent errors in prepositions, articles, and tense consistency which cause some difficulty for the reader. While communication is not entirely obscured, the density of grammatical errors keeps the performance at a Band 5.0 level.

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

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