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 line graph depicts the number of jobs in four different sectors of the US economy betweeen the year 1960 and 2020.

Overall, it can be seen that jobs related to retail and healthcare have similar scopes in year 2020 and the demand for the same has been increased over the years whereas placements in Agriculture shows the downward trend. However, Manufacturing has reached its peak over the decades the the demand started to falling respectively.

Provided that, the graph suggests the requirement in the Agriculture and Retail used to have almost similar demand in year 1960 which is 7m approximately perhaps they have grown apart as the retail has seen significant growth till 2000 at 15m but agriculture started declining in the coming years till 2020. Moreover, Heathcare sectors was the least focused area in 1960 stood at nearly 2m and grown over the years met the demand in 2020 likewise the Retail.

Moving further, it can be observed that the least Manufacturing has attained the excellent position in all over the trades and has been in demand more than any other job sectors in 1980 at 20m and after some time it started falling which is now standing at 13.7m in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the four economic sectors across the 60-year span. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, noting the upward trends for retail and healthcare, the downward trend for agriculture, and the peak and subsequent fall in manufacturing. However, there are some minor data inaccuracies and approximations, such as stating agriculture and retail had a similar demand in 1960 of '7m' (data shows agriculture at 6m and retail at 6m, which is close, but 7m is slightly off) and referring to manufacturing in 2020 as '13.7m' (data shows around 13m). Ideas are generally relevant and supported, but the expression of data is sometimes vague or slightly inaccurate, placing this response at Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for specific data points. Progression is generally clear, and cohesive devices are employed, such as 'Overall', 'However', 'Provided that', and 'Moving further'. However, some cohesive links are used awkwardly or unnaturally, such as 'Provided that' and 'Moving further', making the cohesion feel slightly mechanical or forced. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and paragraphing could be structured more logically to separate the increasing trends from the decreasing ones more effectively.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to incorporate less common economic and descriptive terms such as 'sector', 'demand', 'significant growth', and 'downward trend'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, awkward word choices, and typos throughout the text, including 'betweeen' (between), 'scopes' (levels/figures), 'Heathcare' (Healthcare), and 'least Manufacturing' (which appears to be a misuse of 'least'). While communication is not severely impeded, these inaccuracies and restricted precision prevent the lexical score from reaching Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional-style transitions ('Provided that, the graph suggests...'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward clause structures, including double subjects ('Manufacturing has reached its peak over the decades the the demand started to falling respectively'), missing prepositions, and verb tense inconsistencies ('has been increased', 'used to have... which is 7m', 'started to falling'). Punctuation is generally functional, but structural flaws and grammatical slips frequently disrupt the flow.

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