Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The assigned line chart illustrates number of employment sectors in the US from 1960 to 2020. Employment sector includes different job fields such as manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and healthcare.

Overall, it is clearly seen that higher number of jobs were available in manufacturing sector till 2000 whereas least number of jobs were in agriculture. Besides, jobs in retail and healthcare showed an upward trend.

To begin with, about 3 million jobs were in agriculture field which later showed an increase of around 12 millions. Similarily, alike trend was seen in retail domain with the growth from 7 to 17 million jobs.

In addition to this, Manufacture sector first showed a sharp rise of 5 millions which afterwards decreased by 8 millions. Furthermore, in agriculture sector almost downward trend was observed throughout the time period and went from 7 millions to 3 millions in 1980 and remained same for next fourty years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main trends in the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the text claims that agriculture started at 3 million and increased by 12 million, whereas the graph shows it started at 6 million and declined. Similarly, the description of the manufacturing and retail sectors contains several mixed-up numbers and incorrect trends compared to the visual data. The overview attempts to capture broad trends, but overall development is undermined by inaccurate data representation. This places the response in Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a basic organization with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'In addition to this' are employed to structure the text, though some referencing and logical progression are faulty due to the confused data points. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal coherence within paragraphs suffers because of contradictions and inaccurate reporting of the visual data. Overall arrangement shows some coherence, but the delivery is mechanical, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating subject-specific terms such as 'employment sectors', 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agriculture', and 'healthcare'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'number of employment sectors' instead of 'number of jobs in four sectors', and 'Manufacture sector' instead of 'Manufacturing sector'. Spelling and word formation errors, such as 'fourty', also appear. These limitations and inaccuracies restrict the lexical score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, it is clearly seen that higher number of jobs were available...' and '...which later showed an increase of around 12 millions.' However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('higher number' instead of 'a higher number'), incorrect pluralization ('12 millions'), and awkward prepositions. While meaning is generally understandable despite the data errors, grammatical control is inconsistent, warranting a Band 5.0 score.

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