Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates the number of jobs across the four US economic sectors between 1960 to 2020.

Overall, manufacturing started with highest before declining, while retail and healthcare grew significantly. Agriculture experienced a steady downward trend throughout the period.

In 1960, manufacturing led with 15 million jobs, peaking at nearly 20 million in 1980 before dropping to 10.5 million by 2020. Retail began at around 6 million and rose steadily to reach 13.5 million at the end of the year.

Healthcare started at approximately 2 million jobs in 1960, experiencing rapid growth to nearly 14 million by 2020, closely matching with retail. Finally, agriculture was the smallest sector, falling from 6 million in 1960 to about 3 million by 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student has attempted to cover all four sectors across the period, providing an overview and selecting key features. However, there are some inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, manufacturing in 2020 is stated to be 10.5 million, whereas the graph shows approximately 13 million, and retail in 2020 is given as 13.5 million compared to the chart value of 16 million. Furthermore, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 121 words, which imposes a strict ceiling on Task Achievement. Despite the clear attempt to outline trends, the under-length nature and data inaccuracies lead to a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and concluding with body paragraphs detailing specific data points. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall,' 'In 1960,' and 'Finally,' which help guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and paragraph links are somewhat basic, and the overall progression is limited by the brevity of the response. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sections of data. This demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with appropriate sector-specific terms such as 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. The student also attempts some descriptive verbs and phrases like 'steady downward trend', 'peaking at nearly', and 'rapid growth'. There are some minor awkward expressions, such as 'started with highest' instead of 'started out with the highest number of jobs'. Despite these minor flaws, the lexical range is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, supporting a Band 6 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The line graph illustrates...' and 'Healthcare started at approximately... experiencing rapid growth...'. Grammatical control is fairly good, with many error-free sentences. Minor errors occur, such as 'matching with retail' instead of 'matching retail'. Punctuation is generally accurate, and the grammatical errors do not impede communication. This performance aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.

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

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