Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-15

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 given graph shows the number of jobs in four different sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020. The four different sectors are Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare. Let's talk about the first sector, which is Manufacturing. The graph represents that in 1960s there were 15 million jobs which were increase by 5 million in next two decades. The total number of jobs were 20 million in 1980s. However, the jobs started decreasing gradually from 1980s to 2000. In 2020 the number jobs were even lesser than 1980s.

On the other hand, If we see the line graph of sector Retail, It shows the number of jobs were slightly above than 5 million and impressively increase by 9 million in 1980. The graph didn't stop and shows that the count of the jobs in sector Retail was impressively increasing and hit 15 milling in the year of 2000 which is quite a good number however between 2000 and 2020 there is no impressive growth in terms of number of jobs.

Agriculture is our one the crucial sector for jobs. As per the graph there were more than 5 million jobs available for the people. However, from 1980 to 2020 it start decreasing gradually year by year.

The number jobs in healthcare sector was quite a low. Uneducated people could be one of the reason. However, as we can see this sector created the opportunities for the people and in the year of 2020 the jobs count hit the number more than 15 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all four sectors shown in the graph and attempts to report main features and comparisons, which aligns with Band 6. However, the approach is overly conversational and narrative ("Let's talk about the first sector", "Agriculture is our one the crucial sector"), which detracts from an objective academic tone. While key trends are mentioned—such as manufacturing rising to 20 million in 1980 before declining, and retail growing significantly—some data points are misread or vague, such as stating that in 2020 manufacturing jobs were "even lesser than 1980s" (they were actually lower than 1960 as well, but the comparison lacks precision). The explanation regarding healthcare mentioning "uneducated people could be one of the reason" introduces outside speculation not found in the chart. To reach a higher band, the response must maintain an objective, formal register and report the data more accurately without personal commentary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a basic underlying structure, with each paragraph attempting to address a different sector of the graph. However, the paragraphing is quite fractured, featuring several very short paragraphs and conversational transitions like "On the other hand, If we see the line graph..." and "Agriculture is our one the crucial sector". Cohesive devices are often repetitive, mechanical, or mismanaged, and referencing is occasionally unclear. There is no overarching clear progression or introduction of the chart's general trends before diving into the details. While the reader can follow which sector is being discussed, the overall organization falls short of the logical progression required for Band 7, fitting more comfortably at Band 5.5 due to mechanical linking and conversational phrasing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to economic sectors and trends such as "manufacturing", "retail", "agriculture", "healthcare", "gradually", and "decrease". However, there are numerous lexical and collocational errors throughout the text, including "were increase by" instead of 'increased by', "milling" instead of 'million', "one the crucial sector" instead of 'one of the crucial sectors', and inappropriate conversational phrases like "quite a good number". Spelling and word-form errors are noticeable and occasionally distract from the reading experience. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey basic trends, the frequency of word-choice and grammatical-lexical slips limits the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in tense usage, passive/active voice, and agreement, such as "were increase by 5 million" (passive/tense error), "the jobs start decreasing" (subject-verb agreement), and "The number jobs in healthcare sector was quite a low" (missing preposition and article). Punctuation and comma splices also occur, such as in "On the other hand, If we see the line graph of sector Retail, It shows...". Although some sentences are understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors and faulty complex structures means the writing does not consistently achieve error-free sentences, 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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