Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The line chart provides a descriptive comparison about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US between 1960 and 2020.

Overall, healthcare and retail sector have shown increase over the years in comparison to manufacturing and agriculture sector with jobs plummeting at an alarming rate.

Jobs in the healthcare sector increased sustainbly over the years with a jump from less that 5 million jobs in year 1960 to more than 15 million jobs over the span of 60 years making it the fastest growing sector then the other three. While in the retail sector which began with more than 5 million jobs in the year 1960 jumped all the way above 15 million making it the second fastest growing sector in the year 2020.

As for agriculture, more than 5 million jobs were available which has drastically plummeted to less than 5 million in the year 1980 while significantly reducing over the years having recorded the lowest job number of jobs by the year 2020.

The Manufacturing sector starting with 15 million jobs in the year 1960 marking it as the highest number of jobs in that year. However, the number of jobs went up in the year 1980 then it started to plummet by the year 2000 and 2020. The year 2020 marked the lowest number of jobs available in that sector.

To summarize the points, Healthcare and retail showed positive growth resulting in increase of jobs while manufacturing jobs showed a steep decline. The maximum number of jobs are being affected in the agriculture sector.

AI examiner evaluation

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 across the period from 1960 to 2020. The main features are identified, such as the substantial growth in healthcare and retail alongside the decline in manufacturing and agriculture. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the data, such as stating that agriculture had 'more than 5 million jobs' in 1960 (it was around 6 million, but then it dropped to 3 million, whereas the text says it plummeted to 'less than 5 million' which is imprecise for 3 million). The overview is generally clear, though slightly repetitive in the final summary paragraph. Overall, the task is well addressed, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs dedicated to specific trends, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'While in the retail sector', and 'As for agriculture'. However, some of the transitions and referencing are slightly mechanical or repetitive ('over the years' appears multiple times). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sectors, maintaining an overall coherent arrangement throughout the report. This aligns well with the descriptors for Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student attempts a reasonable range of vocabulary relevant to describing economic data and trends, using words such as 'plummeting', 'sustainably' (though misused for 'steadily'), 'drastically', and 'sectors'. There are some word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'sustainbly' instead of 'steadily' and 'then' instead of 'than'. While less common vocabulary is attempted, these errors and occasional awkward collocations prevent the lexical score from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is adequate for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative forms ('making it the fastest growing sector'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, such as missing articles ('the manufacturing sector', 'in year 1960') and minor syntactic awkwardness ('The maximum number of jobs are being affected in the agriculture sector'). Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, and communication remains clear. This reflects the characteristics of a Band 6.0 performance.

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