Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The illustration shows information about employment in four different professions in the US between 1960 and 2020. Overall, at the beginning, the retail and agriculture job numbers were the same, but by the end, retail and healthcare employment increased to reach more than fifty million and agriculture jobs decreased.

It is quite evident from the graph that in 1960, there was the highest number of jobs in the manufacturing sector, almost fifteen million in the US, but with the passage of time it increased to 20 million in 1980. The agriculture and retail sectors job were same number at the start more than five million, but only agricultural jobs decreased. And the healthcare sector jobs were the lowest in number at the beginning of the graph.

Furthermore, manufacturing employment numbers after 1980 decreased in the following years until 2020, and as usual, agricultural jobs decreased throughout this graph. The retail and healthcare sector employment increased in parallel, and in 2020 the number of both sector jobs were same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all four sectors mentioned in the graph and attempts to make comparisons. The overview captures some broad movements, such as the increase in retail and healthcare alongside the decrease in agriculture. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reporting the data: the student states that retail and healthcare employment increased to reach 'more than fifty million', which is factually incorrect as the combined total or individual figures do not reach that scale (retail and healthcare peaked at 16 million each in 2020). Additionally, some trends are described loosely or unclearly, such as stating that retail and healthcare jobs were the same in 2020 (which is correct at 16 million), but the overall selection and reporting of main features lacks precision. Consequently, this falls under Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is structured into three paragraphs, including a brief introduction, body paragraph, and concluding summary. There is an attempt at logical progression, moving from an opening summary to specific details and concluding with overall trends. However, cohesive devices are often mechanical, repetitive, or awkward (e.g., 'with the passage of time', 'And the healthcare sector', 'Furthermore', 'and as usual'). Paragraphing is somewhat basic, and referencing relationships between sentences are occasionally unclear, leading to a choppy reading experience. This aligns well with the Band 5 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a limited range of vocabulary suitable for the task, employing common economy and employment terms such as 'employment', 'jobs', 'sector', and 'agriculture'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and awkward collocations, such as 'professions' instead of 'sectors', 'retail and agriculture job numbers were the same' (when referring to 1960 values), and the mathematical overstatement 'more than fifty million'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success or inaccuracy. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical flexibility is constrained. These features reflect a solid Band 5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'It is quite evident from the graph that...' and 'The agriculture and retail sectors job were same number...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('sectors job were same number'), missing articles ('in 1960, there was the highest number of jobs'), and awkward phrasing. Complex sentence attempts often contain structural flaws or punctuation errors. While these errors do not completely obscure the intended meaning, they cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and restrict the score to Band 5.

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

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