Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The Line chart illustrates the change in number of jobs in 4 major sectors of United States of America between 1960 to 2020.

The chart shows the clear fluctuation in number of jobs as retail and healthcare sectors are leading in number of jobs in 2020 while back in 1960 they was just limited to 3-7 million jobs. Agriculture sector has the least job from 1980 to 2020 while manufacturing sector has the huge number of jobs in 1960 and now it is the 2nd largest job providing sector.

In 1960 the retail sector was offering 6 million jobs which increased to 10 million in 1980 reached to 15 million in 2000 and peaked in 2020 with 16 million jobs and healthcare sector has most least job in 1960 recorded at 3 million increased to 5 million following the growth rate of retail sector reached to 11 million in 2000 and standing at 16 milliom in 2020.

Agriculture sector was providing 6 million jobs in 1960 decreased to 4 million in 1980 remain samein 2000 and reached to lowest point with 3million jobs in 2020. While manufacwas leading sector in 1960 with 15 million jobs increased to 20 million in 1980 and fall down in 2000 to 14 million and lowest at all time at 13 million in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by reporting on the main features of the four economic sectors over the given 60-year period. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, capturing general trends such as the growth of retail and healthcare alongside the decline of agriculture and manufacturing. Key data points are selected and reported, such as retail increasing from 6 million to 16 million and manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 before declining. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some of the specific figures compared to the visual data, such as stating that healthcare started at 3 million (it was 2 million) and that agriculture in 1980 was 4 million (it was 3 million). Despite these slight data reading errors, the overall task is adequately covered and supported with relevant figures.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific sectors. Cohesive devices and transition signals are used, such as 'In 1960', 'While', and 'and reached to lowest point'. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and referencing is occasionally faulty, leading to run-on structures, such as 'While manufacwas leading sector in 1960 with 15 million jobs increased to 20 million in 1980 and fall down in 2000 to 14 million and lowest at all time at 13 million in 2020.' Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate, but internal sentence linking could be smoother to enhance the overall flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating appropriate terms related to economic sectors ('retail', 'healthcare', 'agriculture', 'manufacturing') and data trends ('fluctuation', 'increased', 'peaked', 'decreased'). However, there are several lexical errors, word-form issues, and typos, such as 'manufacwas', 'milliom', and 'most least job'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but often marred by inaccurate collocations or spelling mistakes (e.g., 'following the growth rate of retail sector reached'). The vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, but errors prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently faulty or awkwardly joined. There are numerous grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, such as missing prepositions or articles ('change in number', 'in 4 major sectors'), tense inconsistencies, and run-on sentences lacking proper punctuation (e.g., 'Agriculture sector was providing 6 million jobs in 1960 decreased to 4 million in 1980 remain samein 2000 and reached to lowest point with 3million jobs in 2020'). While these errors rarely completely impede communication, their frequency prevents the response from achieving a higher band score.

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