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 provides information about the number of jobs in four sectors of the economy i.e Manufacturing, Retail, Agriculture and Healthcare in the US between 1960 and 2020. Overall, the jobs in the manufacturing sector initially rose and then fell gradually. Jobs in Retail and Healthcare sectors have shown continuous rise whereas the Agriculture sector showed a downward trend. In 1960 the manufacturing sector had 15 million jobs which rose to 20 million in 1980 and then started falling gradually to 13 million in 2020 while the jobs in Healthcare sectors were approximately 2 million which increased slowly to 5 millon in 1980 after that the jobs in this sector rose sharply and reached slightly above 15 million in 2020. Jobs were 6 million in 1960 same in both retail and Agriculture sectors but the employment rate increased dramatically up 15 millions till 2000 and then showed gradual increase and reached 16 million whereas the jobs in agriculture sector decreased from 6 million to 3 million and then the employment rate fluctuated and reached to 2 millon in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across all four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. The overview is clear and accurately captures the overarching trajectories, noting that manufacturing rose then fell, retail and healthcare grew continuously, and agriculture declined. Specific data points, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and healthcare reaching slightly above 15 million in 2020, are correctly cited from the visual data. The response meets the requirements of Task 1 effectively with appropriate selection and reporting of data, showing good development of the key features without significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall progression, starting with an introductory statement, followed by an overview paragraph, and detailed body information. However, the text suffers from a major structural flaw in formatting: it is written entirely as a single dense paragraph after the introductory and overview sentences, lacking proper paragraph breaks for the detailed body data. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas (e.g., 'whereas', 'after that', 'and then'), but some sentences become overly long and run-on, which affects the overall readability and cohesion management. To achieve a higher band, the student must divide the detailed data into logical paragraphs and break up lengthy compound sentences.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating terms like 'employment rate', 'fluctuated', 'gradually', and 'dramatically'. Less common lexical items are attempted, such as 'continuous rise' and 'downward trend'. However, there are some minor word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'millon' instead of 'million' and awkward phrasing like 'same in both retail and Agriculture sectors'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the message clearly and with some precision, the repetition of basic verbs and occasional slips prevent it from reaching a higher band level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'while the jobs in Healthcare sectors were...' and 'which increased slowly'. There are, however, several grammatical errors and punctuation issues, notably run-on sentences with multiple clauses strung together by conjunctions without adequate punctuation (e.g., the final sentence runs on excessively). Articles and subject-verb agreement show minor slips, such as 'Healthcare sectors' instead of 'the healthcare sector'. Despite these errors, the meaning remains clear throughout, and communication is not impeded.

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.