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 graph illustrates the numbers of job in four different sectors of economy such as Manufacturing, Retail ,Agriculture ,Healthcare in the US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall,Healthcare and Retail stood at the same point ,while agriculture show a rapid drop .However,Manufacturing was highest numbers of jobs but over the period of time its show a significant drop in jobs.

In 1960,Healthcare showed a rapid climbed in the jobs in millions at about 16.while Retail also stood at the same point between 1960 to 2020.

Moreover,Agriculture faced a rapid drop in numbers of jobs .In 1960,Agriculture was at about 5 jobs in millions but after some time In 2020 it fell around 3.Whereas, In 1960 Manufacturing showed the highest numbers of job but it faced fluctutations and fell to 13 numbers of job in million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, containing only 134 words. While the student attempts to cover the main trends, the overview is confused and inaccurate, stating that Healthcare and Retail stood at the same point initially, which contradicts the graph where Healthcare started at 2 million and Retail at 6 million. Furthermore, data reporting contains significant errors; for instance, the student claims Healthcare showed a rapid climb to 16 in 1960 (when it was actually 2 million) and misstates the 1960 Agriculture figure as 5 million. Because of the under-length penalty, confused overview, and inaccurate data interpretation, this falls into band 4.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response attempts a paragraph structure with an introduction and body paragraphs, but the overall progression lacks clarity due to confusing comparisons and contradictory statements. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, featuring repetitive connectors like 'Moreover', 'In 1960', and 'Whereas'. Referencing is frequently unclear, such as in the sentence 'while Retail also stood at the same point between 1960 to 2020', where the comparative reference point is lost. Paragraphing is attempted but lacks the logical structuring required for higher bands, placing this performance firmly in the band 5.0 range.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently reusing words like 'rapid', 'drop', 'jobs', and 'millions'. There are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'numbers of job in million' and 'show a rapid drop' where the tense does not agree with the subject 'agriculture'. Attempts at less common vocabulary result in errors that occasionally cause confusion for the reader, such as 'rapid climbed'. The lexical range is minimally adequate for addressing the task, aligning with a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Simple sentences predominate, and attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty, such as 'Overall, Healthcare and Retail stood at the same point ,while agriculture show a rapid drop.' There are numerous punctuation and agreement errors, including missing spaces after commas, incorrect capitalization ('Retail ,Agriculture ,Healthcare'), and verb-tense inconsistencies ('agriculture show', 'its show', 'showed a rapid climbed'). These frequent errors restrict the score to band 5.0.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.