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 graph depicts the number of jobs in millions in four sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 and 2020.

Overall, initially manufacturing where the sector with largest number of jobs, which turns out to be in the second position by the end of the period. Healthcare has the highest growth over the period.

In 1960, the sector with highest number of jobs were manufacturing with 15 million, followed by retail and agriculture and healthcare respectively. While in 1960 the trend changed from retail holding the second position with 10 million and healthcare the third position with 5 million, whereas agriculture tend to decrease in number of jobs.

During 2000, the number of jobs of manufacturing reduced to nearly 15 million and agriculture to 3 million. During the time, both retail and healthcare tend to grow to 15 million and healthcrae to 11 million. By the end of the period, retail and healthcare reached about 15 million jobs, manufacturing declined to about 13 million and agriculture to nearly 2 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all four sectors and provides an overview of the main trends, satisfying the core requirements of Task 1. The overview correctly notes that manufacturing started as the largest sector and shifted position, and that healthcare experienced significant growth. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific data points. For instance, the student states that in 2000 manufacturing was 'nearly 15 million' (it was actually 17 million), and there are confusing chronological transitions such as 'While in 1960 the trend changed...'. Despite these minor data inaccuracies and some under-developed comparisons, the response adequately addresses the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In 1960', and 'By the end of the period'. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by confusing phrasing and referencing errors, such as 'While in 1960 the trend changed from retail holding the second position...', which is temporally contradictory. Paragraphing is present and generally logical, but the internal cohesion within sentences sometimes feels mechanical or unclear.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'sector', 'economy', 'trend', and 'decline'. There are several word choice and spelling errors, such as 'where the sector with largest' instead of 'was the sector with the largest', and a typo with 'healthcrae'. Less common lexical items are attempted, but inaccuracies in collocation and word forms are noticeable. While these errors do not prevent communication, they limit the score to a Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used throughout the response, such as subordinate clauses beginning with 'While' and 'During the time'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, for example, 'manufacturing where the sector' and 'agriculture tend to decrease'. Despite these errors, the meaning is generally decipherable, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5 to 6.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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