Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16

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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates information about the number of opportunities in four different sectors of the economy in America from 1960 to 2020. Units are measured in millions.

Overall, the manufacturing field had the highest number of job vacancies, whereas Agriculture had very less number of occupations.

The healthcare and Retail sectors initially did not provide many jobs, but the number of jobs rose dramatically over the four decades.

Between 1960 and 1980, the manufacturing sector exceeded the number of jobs noticeably by 5 million; after two decades, it declined gradually to 12 million jobs by 2020. In contrast to manufacturing, the agriculture sector started with over 5 million jobs and substantially fell to approximately 2 million jobs, remaining constant from 1980 to 2000, and then further reducing the number of jobs by 2020.

In the retail sector, the initial number of occupations in 1960 was over 5 million, and it surged drastically, reaching up to over 15 million by 2020. In parallel, the healthcare sector started at 2 million, soaring to 5 million in just 2 decades and then rapidly rocketed to over 15 million by 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the main trends and selecting key data points to report and compare across the four economic sectors. The overview correctly identifies the dominance of manufacturing and the very low figures for agriculture, alongside the significant growth in healthcare and retail. Data points are generally reported accurately, such as noting that manufacturing peaked at 20 million (though the student mentions 12 million by 2020 which matches the graph's downward trajectory) and that healthcare soared to 16 million by 2020. However, there are minor imprecisions in some of the specific figures and phrasing, such as 'very less number of occupations' in the overview, which prevents it from reaching the highest band. Overall, the visual data is well-summarised and comparisons are appropriately drawn.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The report exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is divided into logical paragraphs: an introduction, an overview paragraph highlighting key trends, and body paragraphs detailing specific time periods and sectors. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast to manufacturing', 'remaining constant', and 'In parallel' are used effectively to guide the reader through the data comparisons. Paragraphing is used appropriately and supports the overall readability of the response. Referencing is generally clear, ensuring that the transitions between sentences and ideas remain smooth, though occasional awkward phrasing slightly detracts from absolute fluency.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision suitable for an Academic Task 1 response. Less common vocabulary items and functional verbs are attempted, such as 'substantially fell', 'surged drastically', and 'soaring'. However, there are occasional awkward lexical choices or collocations, such as 'very less number of occupations' and 'number of job vacancies' used to refer to total employment levels rather than unfilled positions. Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary used is adequate to convey the intended meaning and shows a commendable attempt at varying descriptive language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'Between 1960 and 1980, the manufacturing sector exceeded...'). There are frequent error-free sentences, and the overall control of grammar and punctuation is good. Minor errors persist, such as 'very less number' (a quantifier error) and slight awkwardness in verb tenses or modifications, but these errors do not impede communication. Complex structures are generally handled well, reflecting an acceptable level of grammatical control for this task level.

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