Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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 line graph provides the details about the perpostion of jobs in four different fields of the economy in US from 1960 to 2020.

Overall, in in the beginning , majority of individuals were working in manufacturing sector instead of other jobs . Moreover, under argriculture , there were very tinny fraction of jobs .

It is cristal clear that , in 1960 , the number of jobs in retail and argiculture was exact sae , it was just over 5 million . Whereas, in 1980 , the job offer in healthcare and manufacturing were 5 million and 20 million respectibly .

On the other hand , after the year 2000 , the number of jobs under the sector manufacturing ,retail and healthecare were intersect by each other near by 15 million . However , in the last year , the number ratails workers and healthcare workers meet at same point that was around 16 million . Although , the amount of manufacturing sector showed a sharp decline from 1980 to 2020 . It was approximatly about 13 million .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers all four sectors mentioned in the graph and attempts to report main features and comparisons, fulfilling the basic requirements of Task 1. However, there are significant data inaccuracies. For instance, the student states that in 1960 the number of jobs in retail and agriculture was 'exact sae ... just over 5 million', whereas the graph shows retail at 6 million and agriculture at 6 million (which is close, but agriculture starts at 6 million and retail at 6 million in 1960, though retail rose while agriculture fell). Furthermore, the overview is rather basic and contains awkward phrasing ('in the beginning, majority of individuals were working in manufacturing sector instead of other jobs'). While main trends are touched upon, the lack of precise data reading and imprecise descriptions place this performance firmly at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction followed by an overview, and then body paragraphs detailing specific years and sectors. However, the progression is sometimes difficult to follow due to poor punctuation and awkward mechanical linking, such as 'It is cristal clear that ,' and spaces before commas. Cohesive devices like 'Whereas', 'On the other hand', and 'Although' are attempted, but their usage is frequently imprecise or structurally flawed (e.g., dangling dependent clauses beginning with 'Although'). Paragraphing is present, but overall referencing and logical flow are occasionally disrupted by mechanical errors, meriting a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with several noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the response. Examples include 'perpostion' for proportion, 'argriculture' for agriculture, 'tinny' for tiny, 'cristal' for crystal, 'sae' for same, 'respectibly' for respectively, 'healthecare' for healthcare, 'ratails' for retail, and 'approximatly' for approximately. The student attempts less common vocabulary like 'fraction' and 'decline', but these are undermined by severe spelling inaccuracies and awkward collocations like 'job offer in healthcare'. Because these errors impede smooth reading, the lexical score is limited to Band 4.5, rounded to Band 5.0 for adequate task coverage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including comparative and contrastive structures ('Whereas, in 1980...', 'Although, the amount...'). However, grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement and voice (e.g., 'the number of jobs... were intersect by each other', 'healthcare workers meet at same point', 'the amount of manufacturing sector showed...'). Punctuation is also poorly handled, with regular spacing errors before punctuation marks (e.g., 'economy in US from', 'Overall, in in the beginning'). Complex structures frequently contain errors that cause difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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