Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrate the different jobs in four sectors of the economy in the US from 1960 to 2020 year.

Overall,the highest sector of job was manufacturing throughout the years . While , agricultural field work was at the lowest.

To begin with, in the year 1960 healthcare job was below 5 millions .Thereafter , it rose to 15 millions in 2020 in the US. Additionally, agricultural field jobs were above 5 millions which kept declining and reached to 3 millions in 2020 year.

Furthermore, retail work 2nd highest among all other jobs. It kept rising from 5 to 15 millions in 1960 and 2020 year respectively.Thereafter, manufacturing jobs were at top in 1980 about 20 millions in the US . Further, it kept declining in 2000 which was 17 millions jobs . lastly, manufacturing sector jobs dropped to 13 millions of jobs in the year 2020 of US.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all four sectors shown in the graph and provides general trends as well as specific figures (e.g., healthcare rising to 15 million in 2020, manufacturing peaking at 20 million in 1980). However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the data, such as stating that manufacturing was the highest sector 'throughout the years', whereas retail and healthcare actually reached higher levels by 2020. An overview is present at the beginning, but it lacks sufficient development regarding the overall trajectory of each sector. While the main features are reported, the analysis could be more fully extended to satisfy the criteria for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into logical paragraphs with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific trends. However, the progression between ideas is sometimes disjointed due to awkward transitional phrases like 'To begin with' and 'Furthermore'. Cohesive devices are used, but their application is occasionally mechanical or repetitive (e.g., 'thereafter' and 'kept rising/declining'). Paragraphing is present and helps structure the text, but referencing is occasionally unclear, which prevents the essay from achieving a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms such as 'manufacturing', 'retail', 'agricultural', and 'healthcare'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but word choice and collocation are frequently awkward, such as 'highest sector of job' instead of 'largest sector in terms of employment' or 'agricultural field work'. There are also lexical inaccuracies like 'manufacturing sector jobs dropped to 13 millions of jobs'. Overall, the lexical range is somewhat limited and repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues like 'The line graph illustrate' and punctuation or phrasing errors such as 'Overall,the highest sector'. Preposition and article errors are also present, such as 'at top' instead of 'at the top' and 'in 2020 year'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur with enough frequency to heavily impact the overall grammatical accuracy.

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