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 line graph provide a information about the amount of jobs in 4 different sectors of economy in the US between the year 1960 and 2020.
Overall,Retail and Healthcare sector showed a upward trend over the years, while Agriculture sector continues to decline over the year and Manufacturing sector serves as a middleman among the 2 sectors.
In 1960,around 15 million people was employeed in manufacturing sector which was slightly increses around 20 million in 1980 after thaat it continues to fall around 13 million by the year 2020. Around 6 million peoples were employeed due to Agriculture sector in 1960 which kept on falling around 2 million by the year 2020.
In 1960, 2 million workforce are working in Healthcare sector and 6 million in Retail sector. Over the years both the sector shows a continuous increse in employees as in the year 2000 around 12 million person were employed in Healthcare sector and 15 million in Retail sector and by the year end of 2020 both the sectors provide around 16 million jobs.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all four economic sectors shown in the line graph, providing an overview and making relevant comparisons between the trends. The main features are identified correctly, noting the upward trajectory of the Retail and Healthcare sectors alongside the decline in Agriculture and the fluctuations in Manufacturing. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the specific data points reported, such as stating that manufacturing increased 'around 20 million in 1980' when it peaked at 20 million, and minor generalisations in the overview. Despite these minor discrepancies, the response fully addresses the prompt's requirements, fulfilling the criteria for Band 6.5 to 7.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to the different sectors. Cohesive devices such as 'while', 'over the years', and 'in 1960' are employed to guide the reader through the data. However, paragraphing is somewhat basic and the transitions between ideas can occasionally feel mechanical. Referencing and progression are generally clear, though paragraph 3 contains a run of clauses connected loosely with conjunctions like 'and' rather than varied cohesive structures, which places the response firmly in Band 6.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms related to economic sectors, trends, and quantities (e.g., 'workforce', 'decline', 'trend'). However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'employeed' instead of 'employed', 'increses' and 'increse' instead of 'increase', and awkward phrasing like 'serves as a middleman among the 2 sectors'. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 6 due to frequent slips in word formation and spelling.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time markers. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several subject-verb agreement and article errors, such as 'The line graph provide a information', 'both the sector shows', and missing pluralization in 'each sector'. Furthermore, run-on sentences and punctuation slips occur, such as in the third paragraph. While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they appear frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from rising above Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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