Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

This line graph illustrates tendency of jobs in four different sectors of the economy in US in millions from 1960 to 2020. Overall, there is a general trend of fluctuation in the data. Jobs of manufacturing has the highest value in data whereas, jobs of agriculture has least value by the end of period.

In detail, manufacturing sector started with ffifteen millions jobs in 1960 and reach to a peak of 20 million jobs in 1980. This fell down steadily upto 13 millions by the end of period. Meanwhile, jobs in retail sector follows upward trend from the start and reached to the highest number of jobs approximately 17 millions jobs in 2020 at the end of the period which was highest number of jobs by the end of period in the given data.

Jobs in healthcare sector rose to the same value as retail by following the similar trend. However, in the start of period, it has different value about 2 millions jobs in 1960. By contrast, jobs in agriculture oppose the pattren. It has stability from 1980 to 2000 by getting 3 millions jobs, then reached to lowest level to almost 2 millions by the end of period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons across the four economic sectors between 1960 and 2020. An overview is provided at the beginning, stating that manufacturing finished highest while agriculture finished lowest. Key data points are accurately reported, such as manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980 and healthcare matching retail at 16 million by 2020. However, there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating retail reached 17 million in 2020 when the graph indicates 16 million, and a typo regarding the starting figure for manufacturing ('ffifteen'). Overall, the response is well-developed and covers the visual data effectively, aligning well with the Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response features a clear logical organisation with an introduction, an overview, and detailed body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the data, such as 'In detail', 'Meanwhile', and 'However'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sectors and trends. However, referencing is occasionally repetitive or slightly clunky, as seen in phrases like 'by the end of period' and repetitive use of 'jobs in'. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the cohesive mechanisms lack the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands, placing this submission comfortably in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic sectors and trend descriptions, such as 'fluctuation', 'peak', 'upward trend', and 'stability'. However, there are notable lexical and spelling errors, including 'ffifteen' and 'pattren'. Word choice is sometimes unnatural or imprecise, such as 'tendency of jobs' instead of 'number of jobs' or 'trend in job numbers', and 'least value' instead of 'lowest figure'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success, restricting the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using relative clauses and contrasting conjunctions appropriately. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as missing articles ('in US', 'in start of period'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Jobs of manufacturing has'), and incorrect prepositions ('reach to a peak' instead of 'reached a peak'). Although these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede overall communication, allowing the reader to follow the intended message. This profile corresponds to a Band 6 grammatical range and accuracy score.

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